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Nearly 700 'Nasty Women' Artists Have Teamed Up To Protest Trump

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”I thought we were headed on a different trajectory,” New York-based artist Roxanne Jackson sighed in an interview with The Huffington Post. “I just really didn’t anticipate ... this.” Jackson was referring to the events of Nov. 9, 2016, when Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. 


In the days that followed, Jackson’s emotional state shifted from utter shock to a foggy depression as she struggled to come to terms with the fact that our nation’s foremost leader will soon be a man who has publicly objectified, demeaned, humiliated, threatened and bragged about assaulting women without recourse. A man with plans to defund Planned Parenthood, to “punish” women for having abortions and to rescind decades of progress toward gender equality. 


Jackson was hardly alone in her feelings of disbelief, anger and fear. But she didn’t realize the extent of her support system until Nov. 14, 2016, when Jackson spontaneously posted a callout on Facebook. “Hello female artists/curators! Let’s organize a NASTY WOMEN group show!!! Who’s interested???” she wrote, tagging women artists, curators, and writers in her circle.



Shortly after posting, Jackson went offline to spend a day at work teaching ceramics. Unknown to her at the time, the message went viral as nasty artist after nasty artist recruited other like-minded ladies for the cause. “I had no idea how much this would escalate and evolve,” Jackson said. Within the first hour of posting, she had 300 responses. 


The reaction to Jackson’s idea was so enthusiastic and impassioned that the prospect of curating a neat and tidy exhibition, capped at a certain number of participants, no longer felt quite right. After discussing the burgeoning project with her co-organizer, curator Jessamyn Fiore, Jackson decided no nasty woman would be turned away or left behind. And thus, “The Nasty Women Art Exhibition,” a sprawling buffet of proudly rude, women-identifying artists, was born. 


In part, Jackson’s idea was inspired by her experience protesting outside of Trump Tower after election weekend and the overwhelming catharsis of being enveloped in a throng of united people. Through her art show, more of a visual protest than a traditional exhibition, she hoped to further communicate to nasty women everywhere that they are not alone. 


To do so, Jackson invited women artists from all over the world to submit their work. The only requirement was that their piece measures under 12 inches in every direction (a simple limitation meant to help manage the large quantity of artworks coming in). No artist who offered work was denied inclusion, and as a result, Jackson acquired approximately 1,000 pieces by the time submissions closed. 



“The Nasty Women Art Show” will be on view at Queens’ Knockdown Center starting Jan. 12 ― just one week before inauguration day. The multidisciplinary pieces, sent in by a whopping 694 artists, will be suspended from 12-foot tall sculptures that will read “Nasty Women” in hot pink letters. Some artists in the show, Jackson explained, are well-established in the New York art scene, but most aren’t names you’d find on the usual gallery roster. Some hail from small towns in red states, others from outside the U.S. completely, and many have never exhibited work before. 


The true force of the show, more than any singular name or piece, is the sheer amount of images on view and the solidarity that number represents. “This show isn’t necessarily about highlighting individual artists,” Jackson explained. “It’s about female-identifying artists coming together against the Trump regime.” 


Another wonderfully anti-establishment element of the exhibition is that the works on view are priced at $100 or less, with all proceeds benefitting Planned Parenthood. Viewers, then, can come home with a $10 artwork or a $100 piece by an artist whose works usually bring in far more zeroes. Jackson described the show as “cash and carry,” meaning you won’t have to wait until the end of the exhibition to take your new, feminist masterpiece ― just make sure to bring some dollar bills. “Hopefully the show will just look like very naked letters at the end,” Jackson mused.



It’s a strange time to be an artist in America. On the one hand, the urge to resist and express through creative means is stronger and more necessary than ever. And yet it’s easy for art to feel futile, insular and trivial amid dire political times.


Jackson, whose ceramic sculptures often operate on the fringes of the feminine grotesque, found that, post-election, her glam-horror aesthetic was no longer so horrific. “I’ve been making these monsters, but they’re not dark enough, they’re not intense enough,” she said. “However scary a sculpture could look, it’s nothing compared to Trump in the White House. The reality is horrifying.”


Yet rather than giving up on her craft, Jackson became more determined than ever to channel her skills into active resistance. For this reason, it was crucial to Jackson that the “Nasty Women” exhibition not just be “a group show of Bushwick artists,” as she put it, but an accessible visual protest that could reach beyond the borders usually ascribed to art happenings. 


Along with the New York-based show, there are currently 23 other “Nasty Happenings” scheduled for the coming two months, taking place everywhere from Lubbock, Texas, to Brussels, Belgium. Jackson invites any and all other nasty women interested in getting involved to organize their own “Nasty Women” show, with instructions available on the show’s website. Her only request is that all shows adopting the “Nasty” name donate their proceeds to an organization benefiting women’s rights.  


“I want this visual art protest to count,” Jackson said. “I want to inspire others, to continue to make art, to continue to march in protest, to resist as much as possible. This election has been a wake-up call. Our challenge is to not forget. We can’t just be defeated; we can’t just turn apathetic. We have to be active.” 



“The Nasty Women Art Exhibition” will run from Jan. 12 through Jan. 15 at The Knockdown Center, Maspeth, Queens, NYC.




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Ashley Tisdale And Vanessa Hudgens Reunite For A Lovely Acoustic Duet

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High School Musical” fans, you’re in for a treat. 


On Tuesday, Ashley Tisdale shared a video on her YouTube channel featuring special guest (and BFF) Vanessa Hudgens. In the clip, the two ― who played Sharpay and Gabriella in the “HSM” films ― perform a wonderful acoustic rendition of Elle King’s “Ex’s & Oh’s.” It’s just what we’ve been looking for. 


As it turns out, this is the duo’s first duet together ― as they note in the video, they didn’t get one in any of the “HSM” movies, much to their disappointment. This performance definitely makes up for that. It also makes us miss “High School Musical” more than we already did. 


Will the Wildcats ever get back in the house? We can dream. 

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For The First Time Ever, A Black Woman Will Be Headlining Coachella

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On Tuesday, Coachella announced its 2017 lineup which includes headliners Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar and ― best of all ― Beyoncé. 


Queen B headlining one of the most popular music festivals in the country is exciting for more than the simple fact that she is Beyoncé: She’s also the first solo female artist to headline Coachella in the last decade and the first black woman ever to headline the California-based festival. 


Since Coachella’s inception in 1999, only two women have headlined the star-studded festival. Before Beyoncé, Bjork headlined the festival in 2007 and once before that in 2002. Portishead ― a three-person English rock band whose lead singer is a woman ― headlined Coachella in 2008. 


That’s a pretty abysmal track record.






The gender disparity in festival lineups is unfortunately not new and is not limited to Coachella. In a 2016 analysis of 10 of the most popular American music festivals, The Huffington Post found that all-male acts make up an overwhelming majority of festival lineups.


All-male performers made up around 66 percent of all artists in the past five years of lineups from San Francisco’s Outside Lands and New York City’s Governors Ball. And electronic-based festivals such as Electric Zoo and Ultra have an even wider gender gap: All-male performers made up 93 percent of performers at EZoo and 90 percent at Ultra over the past five years. 





Coachella fell somewhere in the middle, with all-male acts averaging around 75 percent of the festival’s lineup over the last five years. 


Last year, Coachella’s lineup included 168 male artists and just 60 female artists ― a figure that includes both all-female and mixed-gender acts. This year, there are 108 all-male acts and 40 all-female and mixed-gender acts. The number of acts overall is lower than last year, most likely because this initial lineup doesn’t take into account edits that are usually made as the festival date nears.


While the percentage of female acts at Coachella have continued to increase slightly over the past few years, the number is still miniscule. Let’s hope big names like Beyoncé prove that there is a space for women in festival lineups ― and they can bring the house down as well as any male artist in the game.


Time to get in formation, people. 


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Billionaire To Sponsor Education Of 21 Girls Freed From Boko Haram

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Nearly two dozen Chibok, Nigeria schoolgirls who were released from Boko Haram’s captivity will have the opportunity to get an education courtesy of black American billionaire Robert Smith.


Smith, who founded a private equity firm, is offering scholarships to 24 Nigerian girls, 21 of which were abducted by the terrorist group two years ago.


According to Nigerian publication Leadership, senior assistant to the president on media and publicity Mallam Garba Shehu said that the girls, who are being treated as adopted children of the federal government, will be admitted through negotiation at the American University of Nigeria, Yola, a top school in the country. Shehu added that Smith “is offering to take responsibility for all the others who will hopefully be eventually set free.” 



In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped as many as 276 girls from Chibok and forced them to either join their army or become their slaves. They were subjected to rape, torture, starvation and forced marriages, according to the New York Times. Since 2014, the group has abducted about 2,000 girls and boys. The Nigerian government negotiated the freedom of the 21 girls in October. 


Smith, who is known as the “quiet billionaire,” started his fight to help these girls in 2015 when he learned of the bleak fate of 50 victims who had escaped.


“I was driving two of my own children to school, and it just hit [me] as a parent,” he told the Guardian in 2015. “And then the scale of [Chibok]. Even if it was just two or three, it’s a tragedy, but 300?”


He noted the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and said, “these girls matter, too.” He added, “Their lives matter not just because of the events that happened, but just because their lives matter.”


H/T Mic

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Gutsy Sideshow Artists Spins Balanced On Single Spear Point

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Las Vegas-based stunt artist Andrew Stanton definitely has guts ― and he’s not afraid of puncturing them, based on the video above.


Stanton, who performs in the SwingShift SideShow, has somehow figured out how to place his body on a single spear point and spin his body around it. 


Stanton recently immortalized his spear spinning in a video for The Wizard Of Odd, a YouTube channel featuring humans doing extraordinarily weird things.


As you might expect, this is the type of stunt you shouldn’t try at home ― or ever.


“Not only is it a lot of pain but it compresses the blood in my stomach. I’ve almost passed out a couple times,” he said in the video above. “Just from the blood, not the pain and lack of blood to my head.”


Stanton said spear spinning is an activity done by Shaolin monks, but the spear he uses is sharper.


“When they’re doing a single point spear on bare skin, it’s usually about the thickness of my middle finger,” he said. “This one is a lot sharper than that by a lot.”


As stomach-churning as this stunt is (do we really have to repeat to not try this at home?), Stanton’s spear spinning looks beautiful in action.




His sideshow partner, Kelvikta the Blade, has also attempted the stunt, but never again.


“It’s a whole ‘nother world of agony,” she said in the video. “It’s like, here we go. Very very painful.”


Stanton described the feeling in slightly different terms.


“It’s like jumping into a cold pool,” he said.


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The Man Behind This Iconic Photo Is Still Keeping Baltimore's Story Alive

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Photographer Devin Allen spent three weeks documenting the uprising in Baltimore following the untimely death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in April 2015. He took thousands of photos, but one picture of a young black man running from a group of riot-gear clad police officers seized the country’s attention.


The perfectly-framed photo captured the tension in the city and eventually made it onto the cover of Time Magazine, which marked a powerful moment for Allen and his community. The Huffington Post recently caught up with Allen in his hometown of Baltimore to look back on the career-defining picture and get a glimpse into his current life. 




Allen, who grew up in West Baltimore, five minutes from the location where Gray encountered the police, is fiercely devoted to his city despite its troubles. The stark economic, health, and housing disparities between the city’s black and white populations are no secret, but even while photographing the uprising Allen said he saw beauty.  


“Even though it might have been a dark time, I was able to make it look so beautiful,” Allen told The Huffington Post. “Certain parts are more beautiful than others, but I think that everything is beautiful, even the negative parts. I try to portray that in my work… I call [Baltimore] the beautiful ghetto.”


Allen’s ability to show and share nuanced perspectives about his city is evident through his Instagram, which is filled with gorgeous depictions of black life in Baltimore and so much more. A scroll through his profile reveals poised women in headwraps, gritty urban landscapes and carefree kids playing basketball ― much of which he captured using an iPhone.



The future is bright :: Youth of Baltimore :: #imagelogger :: #DVNLLN

A photo posted by Devin Allen ◼️◾️▪️ (@bydvnlln) on




In 2015, Allen launched the program Through Their Eyes to help teach Baltimore kids photography skills and showcase their photos in local exhibitions. He said he wanted to push young community members to learn a new skill and take control of their own narratives. 


“It’s so important to have cameras in these spaces, because at the end of the day, when other journalists and people come here and take pictures, they’re never going to get the right story,” he said. “They’re not going to dig deep enough because they don’t love us. They … don’t love the community like we do.”


That love runs deep. While walking through the city during the interview, Allen stopped by Baltimore’s City of Gods streetwear clothing shop, where he had his first photoshoot years ago. Today, Allen’s Time magazine cover hangs on the walls of the store.


“I just wanted to document the fact that I was able to change people’s views on my community with just a single shot,” he said of the framed cover. “CNN, BBC, even Time were reaching out to me, wanting to know my story, wanting to know, ‘Where did you come from? How are you able to photograph these things?’ But it all goes back to the core thing ― that my city is my inspiration. My city is my heartbeat.”


The video above was produced by Choyce Miller, edited by Chai Dingari and Jenna Kline and shot by Andrew Moynehan and Alex Kushneir. 

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'May Men Go Extinct': The Feminist Anthem Rocking Saudi Arabia

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May men go extinct, they caused us psychiatric diseases!


These are the lyrics, roughly translated from Arabic, of the feminist anthem “Hwages,” which has skyrocketed to viral fame over the past month. The song ― whose title loosely means “concerns” ― is based on an older Bedouin folk song.


And if you think the words are provocative, wait until you see the music video. 


Directed by Majed al-Esa of the Saudi production company 8ies Studios, the video begins with three women donning niqab loading into the backseat of a car while a young boy sits in the driver’s seat. The women soon ditch the vehicle, however, for rollerblades and scooters, which they ride in candy-colored sneakers and brilliantly patterned dresses. 





The video then relocates to a conference at the playfully titled “House of Men,” presided over by a puppet simulacrum of ― who else? ― U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Very serious men wave signs with women’s faces crossed out in the audience.


Our ladies, however, have no time for misogynist conferences; they’re busy at a neon-kissed carnival, dancing the night away, playing bumper cars, and knocking over bowling pins plastered with men’s faces. 


Since it was uploaded to YouTube on Dec. 23, the video has racked up over 2 million views and plenty of praise on social media. The established Saudi newspaper Al-Bilad commented, as noted by The Washington Post, that the video highlighted “the rights of Saudi women in life, pointing out that the new generation of women is different from the past.” 


Not since Pussy Riot’s “Straight Outta Vagina” has a music video made us want to dance our brains out and smash the patriarchy all at once. Whoever invents a dance move that can accomplish both, please alert us right away. Thanks. 




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Technology Allows Tattoo Artist To Really Get Cutting-Edge

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Technology and tattoos are coming together for a cutting-edge ink artist in Grand Junction, Colorado.


At The Raw Canvas, Justin Nordine still applies tattoos to his clients’ bodies using an old-fashioned ink gun. But his designs are digital, thanks to his Apple Pencil and iPad Pro.


“It has changed my reality as an artist. Tenfold,” Nordine told NBC News. “I hold the Pencil, and anything I do with it — I can turn it into a paintbrush, a marker, an actual pencil. An airbrush. Splatter paint. I mean, you name it. I literally have an entire bucket of tools in my pocket with one piece of technology.”





Using the Pencil and iPad requires a different way of thinking for 36-year-old Nordine.


“I now can take my image and bounce it to my next iPad, so I have a visual while I’m tattooing,” he said. “I can zoom in on it if I want to to see the detail. I can change it in an instant.”




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This Is What Happens When You Let Amateurs Ride A Mechanical Bull

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Ride ‘em cowboy!


Journalists are known for slinging bull, not riding it. But for three years running, at Manhattan’s Johnny Utah’s, media types have faced off against an enormous mechanical bull in the “Big Apple Buck Off,” a charity event that HuffPost editors have won ― every single year. 



On Wednesday, fellow reporter Sebastian Murdock and I took on the metal beast to defend our title.





We faced off against editors and reporters from the New York Daily News and ABCNews.com, among other, and we did it in the presence of Professional Bull Riding World Champ Cooper Davis, a man who has won millions of dollars (and broken dozens of bones) doing what we were trying to do, only on a much grander scale. 



The event was a warm-up to this weekend’s three-day PBR championship at Madison Square Garden, where cowboys will ride actual 2,000-pound bulls (with no cushy flooring to catch you when you fall) and buck their way to glory.


Organizers have trucked in 750 tons of dirt, dumped atop the ice where the New York Rangers play, to provide the 8 inches of topsoil for riders to compete for the coveted gold buckle. 




As for our amateur bull riding, we laughed, I cried and held on for dear life. Watch the full mayhem and madness above to find out who left with $2,017 for the charity of their choice.





For tickets to see the Professional Bull Riders competition, check online here. 


 

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The Hip-Hop Artists Who Use Words To Change The World

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Emmanuel Jal, born in South Sudan, was only 8 years old when he was recruited to fight as a soldier in the Sudanese Civil War along with 12,000 other children. Miraculously, Jal was one of the few to escape, eventually finding his way to Kenya and enrolling in school.


Today, he is a rapper, actor and social activist, who spins verses about his personal biography and his ongoing crusade for peace around the world. “I used to have a lot of nightmares,” Jal expressed in an interview with NPR. “Life was difficult then. But music became the place [where] I was able to see heaven. So through music I was able to dance, I was able to become a child again.”


Jal is one of the subjects pictured in “Forthright ― Stronger than a Weapon,” a photography series by German photographer Sascha Kraus. The project pictures 43 hip-hop artists from Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States, all of whom use their craft to advocate for world peace and universal human rights. Far from just an exercise in frivolous entertainment, rap music is framed through Kraus’ lens as a bold and uncompromising tool for social change.



I am fascinated by what the artists do with their music,” Kraus said in an interview with Freelens. “With my project ‘Forthright,’ I would like to give them a platform and show what influence this movement has on a global scale.” Kraus pictures his subjects both performing and at rest, in black-and-white and in color, the depictions suggesting that a human being, when immersed in her element, can become something more. 


Another featured rapper, Sister Fa, champions women’s rights in her lyrics, specifically speaking out against the practice of female genital cutting, which she experienced as a child in Senegal. Today, she uses music to ensure that girls no longer have to endure the pain that was inflicted upon her as a youth. “I am just trying to speak for the many women who cannot raise their voices,” she said in an interview with The Guardian. “I feel that when I talk, one person listens; but when I sing, thousands of people can hear my song.”



Also pictured is Deeb, an Egyptian musician who performed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the revolution. “Rise up, O Egyptian / No revolution can be terminated in a night and day,” he sings in the song “Promised.” “Bear with yourself a bit / Have endurance and tolerance / Don’t fear on the cycle of production / 
There should be a revolution against oneself / Tomorrow is better than the past.”


Over 250 photographs make up “Forthright,” which are all compiled into a book disguised as an album booklet, complete with a selection of in-depth interviews and sample lyrics. Through the powerful publication, Kraus makes his purpose objectively clear: in today’s political climate, we don’t need more guns, more bombs, more war. We need words, we need music, we need the power of those individuals willing to risk their lives to speak their minds. 


As written in the book itself: “Music is the language of our heart, so, we choose music as our weapon.”



Purchase a copy for yourself here. 



Every Friday, HuffPost’s Culture Shift newsletter helps you figure out which books you should read, art you should check out, movies you should watch and music should listen to. Sign up here.

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Famous Writers Plan A 'Literary Protest' On The Steps Of The New York Public Library

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PEN America, an organization built around a desire to defend open expression in the U.S., is preparing a “literary protest” in the most likely of places: the steps of the New York Public Library.


“Writers Resist: Louder Together for Free Expression” is the name of the protest, scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 15, at 2 p.m. in New York City. The event is open to members of the public, who are welcome to join “hundreds of writers and artists and thousands of New Yorkers” in a gathering planned on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.


“Stand with PEN America to defend free expression, reject hate crimes and uphold truth in the face of lies and misinformation!” a Eventbrite listing, shared with PEN followers on Wednesday, proclaims. 


The “protest” will consist of two parts. First, there will be a series of readings outside the NYPL, including performances by American poet laureates Robert Pinsky and Rita Dove, who will each share “inaugural” poems with the crowd. A full list of “featured” writers appears below:



Meena Alexander, Laurie Anderson, Moustafa Bayoumi, Erin Belieu, Amy Brill, Rosanne Cash, Alexander Chee, T. Cooper, Michael Cunningham, Eisa Davis, Mónica de la Torre, Alex Dimitrov, Rita Dove, Charlotte Druckman, Melanie Dunea, Storm Ervin, Jeffrey Eugenides, Angela Flournoy, Masha Gessen, Allison Glock, Amy Goodman, Jeff Gordinier, David Haskell, A.M. Homes, Siri Hustvedt, Mary Karr, Michael Klein, Jaime Manrique, Colum McCann, Jill McDonough, Rick Moody, Honor Moore, Kathleen Ossip, Robert Pinsky, Francine Prose, Kevin Prufer, Sofia Quintero, Jason Reynolds, Jess Row, Esmeralda Santiago, Hirsh Sawhney, Bob Shacochis, Brenda Shaughnessey, Deborah Solomon, Andrew Solomon, Art Spiegelman, Terese Svoboda, Craig Teicher, Charlie Vazquez, Jonathan Wells, Meg Wolitzer, Zachary Wood, Jacqueline Woodson, Monica Youn and many more to be announced.



After the readings, a group of PEN America leaders will lead protesters to Trump Tower in order to present PEN America’s free expression pledge on the First Amendment to “a member of the President elect’s team.” The pledge, which PEN reports has been signed by over 110,000 individuals, reads in part:



On January 20, Donald J. Trump will take the oath of office and swear to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. During his presidential campaign, his statements and actions called into question his commitment to constitutional principles, including the freedom of expression. Of specific concern were his threats and insults directed toward journalists, arbitrary limitations on media access and comments in support of potential legal reforms that would weaken First Amendment protections.



Poet Erin Belieu launched Writers Resist, a co-sponsor for the Jan. 15 protest. The project takes the form of a website geared toward inspiring “a unified vision for the future of Democracy” through IRL events. You can check out the site to find an event near you.


In other PEN news, speculative fiction master Margaret Atwood recently cautioned America against “dictators of any kind” in a brief letter in support of and distributed by PEN America. And earlier this year, over 450 writers, including Stephen King and Michael Chabon, signed a petition calling out President-elect Donald Trump’s “nativism and bigotry.”




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This Twisted Theory Will Change How You Look At Donkey In 'Shrek'

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The “Shrek” movies are like onions. They’ve got layers. But the more you peel the layers back, the more unprepared you are for what’s there.


For instance, Lord Farquaad’s name may be a hidden joke since it sounds like “f**k wad,” and there’s a lot of other questionable adult humor in the movie, too. Now, a Redditor may have just revealed another secret.


The theory: Donkey is one of the boys from Pleasure Island in “Pinocchio” that was turned into a jackass. 





Wow. You cut us deep, Reddit. You cut us real deep just now. 


In “Pinocchio,” it’s hard to forget the messed-up part where boys go off to “Pleasure Island” and end up turning into donkeys. There’s no happily ever after there, either. 





Could Donkey be one of those boys?


The theory has been on the internet before, but Redditor YeremyV recently put it together with convincing evidence.


First, remember that Pinocchio is actually in “Shrek.” Therefore, as TVtropes.org points out, a Pleasure Island donkey could show up, as well.  


YeremyV expands on this idea, adding that most of the other characters in “Shrek” seem to be from fairy tales or nursery rhymes (Three Little Pigs, Three Blind Mice, Muffin Man), but “Donkey doesn’t seem to be from a specific story.” It’d make sense if you consider that he’s a boy-turned-donkey from “Pinocchio.”


As more support, the Redditor explains that, despite the fact that other animals can talk, a talking donkey seems to be out of the ordinary in “Shrek”: 





Donkey may also have memories of being human. The Redditor points out how a scene of Donkey remembering “wedgies and swirlies” gets weird:



When Puss in Boots asks more about it, Donkey just says, “Some things are better left unsaid.”






For a last bit of evidence, when Puss in Boots and Donkey switch bodies, Puss can’t control his donkey hee-haws, much like the boys in “Pinocchio” when they try to talk:





Daaaaamn, Donkey. What do you have to say about this?





The evidence against:


The idea isn’t without its issues.


There is a talking donkey in author William Steig’s childrens book Shrek!, meaning that the character isn’t a complete anomaly in the storyThe movies are inspired by the book and not a word-for-word retelling, so the characters are very different. Still, Donkey doesn’t necessarily have to be from Pleasure Island.


In addition, as another Redditor points out, Donkey and Shrek take a “Happily Ever After” potion in “Shrek 2”: Shrek turns into a human, and Donkey turns into a horse. If Donkey used to be a human, wouldn’t he have turned back into a human? 


Donkey has no problem turning into a horse. He clearly thinks he’s very sexy.





On the theory, Redditor YeremyV told The Huffington Post, “I don’t consider it to be much of a stretch, considering that Fiona’s father (the king) turned out to be the Frog Prince. It just seemed like Donkey was never really from a story, and it’s interesting to think that maybe he is after all.”


What do you think? Is this theory about the ass from “Shrek” kick-ass? Or is it half-assed? Or did we just want to write a bunch of puns with “ass”? 


As they say in “Pinocchio,” let your conscience be your guide ...


But, yeah, he totally used to be a boy, right?





The Huffington Post has reached out to the “Shrek” producers for comment.






Hit Backspace for a regular dose of pop culture nostalgia.

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The Secret Ingredient To A Successful Film Is Kyle Chandler

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In 2013, both “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Argo” were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. The latter, directed by Ben Affleck, went on to win. The following year, “The Wolf of Wall Street” nabbed five Academy Award nods. And in 2015, “Carol” gained critical acclaim and competed for six golden statues on Hollywood’s biggest night.


This year, Kenneth Lonergan’s film “Manchester by the Sea” has landed on a bevy of year-end lists and was named the best film of 2016 by the National Board of Review. The movie has already earned three Critics’ Choice Awards, four Screen Actors Guild nominations and five Golden Globe nominations. Let’s just say chances for a few Oscars are pretty high.


But what do all of those movies have in common? Well, Kyle Chandler, of course.



The Emmy winner, who is best known for his beloved role as Coach Eric Taylor on the TV series “Friday Night Lights,” played supporting roles in the five films mentioned above. Chandler himself has never been nominated, but he’s clearly earned a different prize: awards season’s lucky charm.


“I don’t know about that,” he told The Huffington Post in a recent interview, laughing at the concept. “I’ll tell you what, I’m lucky to be involved in all those films.”


In actuality, five of the last seven movies Chandler was part of became Oscar hits. The 2013 Sundance prizewinner “The Spectacular Now” and the political thriller “Broken City” were the two movies that didn’t compete for gold, but neither went unnoticed. In fact, “The Spectacular Now” earned two Independent Spirit Award nominations and a handful of critics’ accolades. And now, believe it or not, Chandler’s next indie, “Sidney Hall,” is already surrounded by buzz.



These supporting roles keep being offered and the people who have been involved in the films, you can’t say no to, you know?
Kyle Chandler


There’s no mystery behind why Chandler is cast in notable films: the 51-year-old actor is a memorable force on screen. His voice is one of a kind. He gives amazing pre-game pep talks. He plays a great CIA chief/FBI agent/authority figure, and he knows how to be a jealous husband when it’s needed. It appears Chandler always has the upper hand when it comes to playing men in charge ― he makes you believe he’s got everything under control, whether it be within an agency, administration or familial structure. (“You need a guy who’s grown up, and a lot of actors don’t seem grown up, no matter how old they get,” director Todd Haynes said in 2015, explaining why he cast Chandler in “Carol.”) With his latest role, Chandler proves he’s got the skills to make you feel all that plus true, wrenching heartbreak.


Chandler, oddly enough, plays Joe Chandler in “Manchester by the Sea,” a movie riddled with both extreme grief and laugh-out-loud humor that you don’t know which emotions to embrace as the movie unfolds. The story revolves around a Massachusetts handyman, Lee (Casey Affleck), who is assigned guardianship of his teenage nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges), after his only brother (Chandler) dies. Although he moves back to his hometown to care for Patrick, Lee is facing darker demons that prevent him from truly tackling the role of father-figure.


“I found the script very uplifting as opposed to depressing,” Chandler said when asked about the film’s somber undertones. “I find that the character I play was actually freeing my brother from a possible lifetime of imprisonment, and I was giving him the option and the choices to free himself from his past pain by being the one who’s able to do the right thing for my son. And if I was going to look at the ending of the character, I would say my brother did the best he could do for who he is and that’s what I wanted him to do before I passed away.”


Lonergan’s screenplay affected Chandler so deeply that he knew he had to be in the film. So, he did his very best to convince the writer and director to hire him. “I read the script twice in a couple of hours because it moved me so much. I thought I was being tricked or something,” Chandler explained. “The next morning, I went and I sat for an hour with Kenny, [and we] talked about what I’d like to do with the character and what he did, and we had a great breakfast. I walked out of there 10 feet tall, thinking, ‘Wow, I hope he chooses me for this.’”



Chandler feels that way about most of the films he’s involved with as of late. Although he no longer needs to audition (“I was always terrified of auditioning, to be quite honest”), the actor reads dozens of scripts and usually can’t believe the immense talent behind the projects he’s pitched.


“I’ve never truly gone against my gut feeling,” Chandler said. “But a lot of these you don’t even have to worry about having a gut feeling. When you meet Martin Scorsese and he says, ‘Ah, I think you’d be good for this.’ You feel like, ‘OK! I think so, too.’ I’ve been so very fortunate. You look at the directors on each one of the films that you mentioned, they’re really impressive people who are really good at what they do.”


Still, Chandler is always a supporting player in a field of lead actors, which has included Ben Affleck (“Argo”), Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), Cate Blanchett (“Carol”) and Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”). He insists he’s fine with that, but it doesn’t mean he’s not eager to take on a headlining role. In fact, the funnier, the better.


“These supporting roles keep being offered and the people who have been involved in the films, you can’t say no to, you know?” he explained, referring to directors like Scorsese, Haynes and Kathryn Bigelow. “I’ve never had a lead role in a feature and that’s the next brass ring that I’m looking for. That’s one pursuit that I have not hit yet. But until then, I’m very happy with where I am,” Chandler added with a chuckle.


He’s never seemed to have a problem nabbing a lead role on television, however. The actor once again played an authoritative but lovable family man on NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” for five seasons. His portrayal of football coach Eric Taylor earned him numerous accolades, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2011. More recently, he stars in Netflix’s original series “Bloodline” as John Rayburn, a Florida sheriff dealing with family crisis after family crisis as a protective son and brother. Again, Chandler received Emmys love, being nominated twice for a role that mirrors a lot of his past work. Hollywood has a tendency to pigeonhole him into this stern, endearing character arc, something Chandler is well aware of.



“There’s this gravitas that for some reason I get hired for these heavy roles, and I love comedy,” he admitted. “I cannot wait to get hold of a comedic script. A dark comedy, a situational comedy — anything comedy! Because I haven’t done anything fun like that in so long.”


An invitation to this year’s most prestigious award show would be fun too, but that’s a whole other thing Chandler isn’t so sure about. Believe it or not, he’s never even attended the Oscars: “They won’t let me in,” he joked.


Standing on the sidelines of awards season doesn’t faze him, though. “When I get a chance to go, that’s awesome. Fantastic. Great,” he said. “But if I’m not invited, I’m not bothered by it at all.”


Chandler “truly” believes the Oscar buzz surrounding “Manchester” is deserved. Despite having some anxiety about taking on a Boston accent for the film (“The thing that worries me the most is people from the area. If they don’t buy it, it’s just a big fail”), Lonergan’s dedication, Affleck’s immersion into his character and the crew’s tireless efforts made Chandler quickly realize that this project was something special. If it wins, he’ll be proudest of the teamwork involved.



When you go and you win an Emmy, you’re not standing up there, saying, "Hey, look at me, I won an Emmy. I’m so proud of myself." You just happen to be the grinning fool who’s standing up there holding the statue.
Kyle Chandler


“Within just wanting things to do well, it’s not just you. You’re striving for all the people who work around you and the whole project,” Chandler said of awards season, admitting he doesn’t “strive for nominations.”


“When you go and you win an Emmy, you’re not standing up there, saying, ‘Hey, look at me, I won an Emmy. I’m so proud of myself.’ You just happen to be the grinning fool who’s standing up there holding the statue,” he added. “Without everyone else, then you’re on the sidelines. But in that sense, you’re never on the sidelines as long as you have a job because you’re always having fun doing what you want. Like I always say, that’s why they call it a play. It’s play. So it’s a good living.”


Before ending the conversation, we asked Chandler what his next Oscar-nominated film would be. The actor couldn’t help but joke a bit.


“It’s probably going to be a comedy and I’m going to be the lead in it. And it will be shot in black-and-white. Old, beautiful, grainy, nickel-like nitrate. That would be fantastic.”


Yes. Yes, it would.


“Manchester by the Sea” is now playing in select theaters.

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There’s A Reason Why Indie Bookstores Are Thriving

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At the tail end of last year, the New York book community was hit with unsettling news. BookCourt, the independently run store serving Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, and readers willing to venture from their own neighborhoods for the sake of author events and stocked shelves, was closing.


For avid readers, the loss of a bookstore leaves a mark. Bookstores ― the brick-and-mortar variety ― foster so many chance encounters and reflective moments; true love of the glue-and-paper sort blossoms among their shelves. And, a shuttered indie doesn’t bode so well for the looming Bezospocalypse, even if their sales are increasing at a steadier-than-average clip compared with non-indie vendors. 


But, like magic, the closing of BookCourt coincided with the announcement of another store, to be opened by Emma Straub, author of Modern LoversThe Vacationers and Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures. A onetime BookCourt employee and longtime lover of literature, Straub hopes her store will be “salve for the wound.”


She and her husband are still ironing out the details of the lease for their store, Books Are Magic! But, she told The Huffington Post that they’re aiming for a May opening date.


“I understand from all of my friends who own small businesses that things always take longer than you think they should,” Staub said. “But, we’ll see. The goal is May.”


Below, Straub shares her earliest and happiest bookstore memories, and her and her husband’s plans for their future store.



When did you decide to open Books Are Magic!?


The second that we heard that BookCourt was closing. Which was mid-October. We found out earlier than most of the public in the neighborhood. Immediately, we thought, no, no, this can’t happen. We live a few blocks away from BookCourt, and we’re there, I would say, three or four times a week. I truly couldn’t fathom the notion that we would live in a neighborhood without an independent bookstore.


We know ― oh, yeah, this is our job to fix. So, we’re working on it.


In your announcement you highlight the importance of a bookstore to a community or neighborhood. How, in your experience, have bookstores played that role?


I work from home, and for me a bookstore is a place that I can always go. It’s a place I can go to find new ideas, and see old friends, and to read a poem, and to pick up a picture book for one of my children, and to buy a gift. Books are the only presents that always fit. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a book and thought, oh, god, this is just, the wrong thing.


Even when I don’t buy something, I always fondle a lot of things. As a writer, bookstores have been enormously important to me. BookCourt in particular, but also other independent bookstores across the country. There’s nothing like it. There’s nothing like a bookstore. It falls in a certain in-between space, between public space and private space. Bookstores always feel intimate but welcoming. I think they’re important and necessary for people like me who have small children, and where it’s not always warm outside. It’s nice to have a place to go.



There’s nothing like a bookstore. It falls in a certain in-between space, between public space and private space. Bookstores always feel intimate but welcoming.



You’ve already touched on this, but what do you think physical bookstores offer that, say, an online bookstore doesn’t?


Oh, discoverability. Discoverability, expertise. I think algorithms are great, and sometimes helpful when you’re buying something and it suggests that you also buy batteries or whatever, but it doesn’t really work with books. It really doesn’t. An algorithm is never going to replace a human being saying, “Oh, that’s interesting, you like Ann Patchett and Meg Wolitzer but you’ve never read Maile Meloy? Oh my god, you’re in for such a treat!” There are so many things like that that happen every day in every bookstore.


Also, just the feeling of wandering. Actually, I have this problem a lot when it comes to music. I don’t listen to CDs anymore, because my husband is more technologically advanced than I am. He has his music very well organized, and on his cloud-whatever, but I no longer get to flip through my music to see what I have. I’ve forgotten what I like to listen to. I can’t remember anything if I can’t see it. And that’s how I feel about bookstores. When you walk through a bookstore, you’re reminded of things that you love, and you see a cover that looks amazing, of a book you’ve never heard of by a person you’ve never heard of, and you pick it up and you flip it over and you read what it’s about and maybe you buy it. And that doesn’t really happen online. You can’t just fall into something. You can’t pick a book off the shelf and read the first five pages of it and know that you’re going to fall in love. Or, you can’t pick up a book that everyone else has read and loved, and read the first page and know that it’s garbage and that you don’t want to read it.


You worked at BookCourt. What do you hope to emulate about that store, with your store? And is there anything you’d like to change, or anything new you’d like to try?


What’s most important to me is to have a space that feels open and welcoming, and comfortable. That’s the number-one thing.


I think BookCourt did a really beautiful job for 35 years, and I hope to be half as good at it as they were. Luckily I have a lot of friends who run independent bookstores in New York City. In fact, everyone who runs a bookstore in New York City has been so friendly and encouraging to us about this. Christine Onorati, who owns WORD, is one of my dearest friends. Stephanie Valdez and Ezra at the Community Bookstore, Rebecca and Jessica at Greenlight, Maggie Pounzie at Story, a children’s bookstore. Sarah McNally. Every person has been encouraging, and offered their help and expertise. We really feel like we’re not trying to compete with anyone. We are truly just doing this to fill this hole in this neighborhood where we live, that has been served so beautifully by BookCourt for so long. We’re just trying to be a little salve for the wound. 



We were talking about just doing a children’s bookstore. And I just thought, books are magic. Just, books are magic, that’s it, that’s the whole point. And we decided that books are magic for everyone, not just children.



Where did you come up with the store’s name, Books Are Magic!?


We hadn’t really thought about names very much. We had a few that sounded more like a butcher shop. We were struggling a little bit. And then, we were talking about just doing a children’s bookstore. And I just thought, books are magic. Just, books are magic, that’s it, that’s the whole point. And we decided that books are magic for everyone, not just children.


What’s your earliest bookstore memory?


My earliest bookstore memory is from when I was about 10 years old, and I grew up on the Upper West Side in Manhattan where there used to be this wonderful independent bookstore called Endicot. And Matt Dillon was in the store when I was in the store, and I just followed him around. It was not a big place, and I was not a small 10-year-old, so I doubt I was very inconspicuous. So that’s my earliest bookstore memory, if I’m being 100 percent honest. So, it started with a dreamboat.


Working at BookCourt was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. I think what made it so fun for me was that I knew every day I went in there I was going to have conversations with smart, interesting people. That is, the other booksellers, the owners, and the customers. That’s what I really loved about it. There was always someone to talk to, and they always had something to say about a book. And what more would you want, really?




Every Friday, HuffPost’s Culture Shift newsletter helps you figure out which books you should read, art you should check out, movies you should watch and music should listen to. Sign up here.



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'Oklahoma City' Trailer Links Timothy McVeigh's Terrorism To The Advance Of White Supremacy

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Ever since he bombed an Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, Timothy McVeigh has remained a celebrity terrorist. But the deranged Army veteran’s story begins long before his blitz on the American government.


The new documentary “Oklahoma City” traces McVeigh’s motivations to the modern white supremacist movement, specifically early-’90s armed standoffs at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and in Waco, Texas. The Huffington Post has the exclusive premiere of the trailer for Barak Goodman’s movie, below.





After bowing at the Sundance Film Festival at the end of this month, “Oklahoma City” will open in select theaters Feb. 3 and air Feb. 7 on PBS. It is a document of patriotism turned into radicalism, a familiar notion amid the alarming nationalist force that has only become more incentivized in the wake of Donald Trump’s election. 


Also check out the movie’s poster below.


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Here's What Happened To Sam's Daughter From 'Lord Of The Rings'

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When it comes to “Lord of The Rings,” we all remember Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee.


He’s your Sam. Don’t you know your Sam? 





Yeah, we know our Sam.


Other actors from the film are not as familiar. For instance, what about the actress who played Sam’s daughter, Elanor? What happened to her? Did you even know her name was Elanor?


Well, after more than a decade since her debut in “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” Ali Astin, Sean Astin’s real-life daughter and the actress who portrayed Elanor, is appearing in a new movie with her father called “Bad Kids of Crestview Academy”:


Here’s Ali nowadays:



The actress doesn’t recall too much about her time in “Lord of the Rings” (she was basically a toddler during production), but she told The Huffington Post, “I think I was about 4. I remember there was a puddle, and we shot all day one scene where I had to run because I kept jumping over the puddle. The craziest thing I remember about that was I begged for weeks to be able to do something in the movie.”


All that begging paid off. To this day, Ali gets recognized for the part when she’s with her dad.


“Sometimes I get little mini recognitions with him,” Ali said. “The weird thing for me is I was onstage for 10 years touring with a company, so I’m the first one in my family in at least 30 or 40 years to be doing stuff onstage again. I would get recognized for being onstage next to my dad, and they would go, ‘Oh, my God. I loved you in that play. Wait. Whaaaaat?’” 



Since her “LOTR” role, Ali has pursued a career in the arts, toured with a theater company, studied acting and theater at Harvard, and even worked on a music album (one of her songs appears in the credits of her new film). Now, she’s back in a movie with her dad.


Ali told us that, this time, she didn’t have to beg for her part as Ethel in the comedic horror film “Bad Kids of Crestview Academy.” They called her. Because of that, she said, “[I’m] slowly working my way up.”



When talking about appearing alongside her father, the actress got sentimental.


“I’ve been watching him since I was born,” said Ali. She continued, “To do this with him and alongside him and to stand on the same ground and own it is the coolest thing in the world, especially because I’ve watched him do it with his mom [Patty Duke]. They did a couple movies together early on. It’s cool. It feels like I’m finally getting a shot to do my own thing.”


You can see the father-daughter duo to rule them all in “Bad Kids of Crestview Academy” in select theaters and VOD Jan. 13.






Hit Backspace for a regular dose of pop culture nostalgia.

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10 Books You Should Check Out From The Library, Because Everyone Else Is

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In any new year, a public library is a hot spot for freshly resolved patrons — people seeking to save money on entertainment or simply read more, among other goals, can easily do both here.


What to select once you’re in the library can be more of a challenge. Sure, there’s the New Releases rack, but how do you know what’s good? What’s a book you should have read the year before? 


The New York Public Library is doing its part to help with these stumpers by releasing the system’s most popular checkouts of 2016 — and tacking on some additional suggestions if you’ve already got those well-known titles under your belt.


According to its website, the NYPL system circulates over 25 million items per year to residents of Manhattan, Staten Island and The Bronx. The list pulls from both physical checkouts as well as those done from their ebook catalog (yes, new Kindle users — you can still take advantage of free library services).


Check out the top titles below:



1. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins


This suspenseful novel, originally released at the start of 2015, was likely bolstered by the release of its film adaptation this past fall.



2. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates


It’s no surprise that Coates’ 2015 collection of essays on race in America — also a National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize nominee — continued to make a mark in a divisive election year. 



3. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi


Kalanithi was on the cusp of completing his neurosurgeon training when he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer, prompting him to write this searing look at what makes a meaningful life before he died in 2015.



4. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee


Whether or not you treat this To Kill A Mockingbird semi-followup as canon for Scout and Atticus Finch, the flawed book is still worth a read.



5. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling


If there were ever a year when we needed a pep talk and hard-won insights from a funny person, it was 2016. (Truthfully, we still need it.)



6. Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari


Dating will probably never get easier, but Aziz Ansari’s foray into romance research can surely help — or at least broadcast your interests to potential suitors on the subway. 



7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee


Perhaps all the buzz surrounding Go Set a Watchman inspired library patrons to reread this oft-taught high school classic.



8. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt


Readers are still flocking to Tartt’s hefty tome of complex characters and family relationships years after its 2013 publication.



9. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr


Doerr’s 2014 epic about a French girl and German boy whose lives intersect in WWII-era occupied France is still capturing readers’ interest.



10. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah


Here’s another novel set around WWII. This time, two French sisters’ paths come together once more after the outbreak of war.

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J.K. Rowling Says This Painting Is A Clue To Her Future Projects

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Breaking: renowned author and unabashed self-promoter J.K. Rowling has changed her Twitter cover photo.


This would seem like a banal development to even the most devoted fans — if she didn’t issue an accompanying tweet claiming the image was linked to her future creative projects.


“It’s hard to find a header that sums up everything I’m working on at the moment, but this painting comes close! It’s by Harmen Steenwyck,” Rowling tweeted on Thursday.










In case you missed it, the “Harry Potter” author announced she’s working on new books late last year. Steenwyck’s work, Rowling seems to imply, could hint at what’s inside those new books.


The painting ― “Still Life: An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life” ― features a Japanese sword, and a shell, two items that The National Gallery in London describes as representative of wealth. Among its worldly possessions, Dutch painter Steenwyck included a skull, a still life symbol that traditionally represents transience.


Is a Rowling-wrought parable about the fleetingness of money in our future? We can hope; amid political developments on both sides of the pond, such a story could, at the very least, entertain us.


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A 'Charmed' Reboot Is In The Works To Bring Back The Power Of Three

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Something wicked this way comes.


“Charmed,” the iconic drama about witches from the late 90s and early aughts is about to get a massive reboot.





The CW has confirmed to The Huffington Post that they’re developing a new iteration of the series made popular on The WB. The only information we’ve gotten about the series from the network is that it will “reimagine” the original series in 1976.


This likely means original cast members Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs or Rose McGowan won’t be making any appearances, but we can hope they’ll finagle some sort of time travel sequence where they pop up, right?


Regardless of whether or not she’ll appear, Combs has already sent out her own response to the news.






For what it’s worth, Milano and McGowan didn’t seem thrilled at the idea of a reboot when it was first rumored in 2013, but they could’ve changed their minds since then.


“Charmed” 2.0 will be written by Jessica O’Toole, Amy Rardin and Jennie Snyder, who all currently work on The CW’s “Jane the Virgin.” Based on that, this version is sure to pack a punch with its quirk and sass.

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Chilling Photos Of What Refugees Left Behind At Lesbos Beach

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Over 1,000 migrants and refugees arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos every day after risking their lives riding from Turkey across the Aegean Sea's choppy waves.


For many of them, the island is the first glimpse of Europe after crossing the waters and before continuing their journey west in search of asylum.


Most of the people arriving on the island are from war-torn Syria, which has seen 25,000 deaths -- 74,400 of which civilian -- since the start of the country's civil war in 2011. Others are from countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.


In photos taken around the island between Oct. 2 and Oct. 8, Associated Press photographer Santi Palacios documented objects that the migrants and refugees left behind, from children's toys to lifejackets to Syrian passports.


Take a look at Palacios' photos below: 




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