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'Fed Up' Distributor Explains Battle With MPAA Over Poster

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Late Wednesday, the Motion Picture Association of America reversed its ban on the poster for "Fed Up," a new documentary about the food industry and its impact on the health of Americans. The now-controversial one-sheet featured two M&Ms emblazoned with the letters "F" and "U," a representation of the movie's title and also a popular swear. On Friday, HuffPost Entertainment spoke with Tom Quinn, co-president of Radius-TWC, the company that will release "Fed Up" on May 9, about the MPAA "reconsideration" on the poster.

Were you surprised the MPAA rejected the poster?
I'm not surprised they rejected it. We expected it. But, by the same token, these are the initials of our film. Could I very easily spell out the title of the film? It's the psychology of limitations: the more restrictions they will apply, the more creative we will be. We immediately appealed. I wanted to get the poster out there into the world. We had launched it online, but by making the appeals process public, I'm happy to notify the world what's happening. I have to admit that later on, the MPAA coming back and having reconsidered -- and having done it so quickly -- I have to say that I'm very impressed. I can't say that I've ever been victorious. I've worked on more than 200 movies, so I'm floored. I'm happy. I'm excited.

You did launch the poster online with us here at The Huffington Post. Does the actual one-sheet that's in theaters really matter at this point if everyone has already seen it on the Internet?
I think it is important. There is sort of the 360-degree approach to how people become aware of your movies, and it's more online than ever. The flip side of that is this: 90 percent of the people coming to your movie are at the theater at some point in the eight weeks prior to release. They are seeing your trailer and your poster. In the event that I cannot get my poster passed, then I'm not showcased in my place of business. It's a problem.

For me, the campaign has to speak to what the film speaks to: the outrage that I felt watching it and what I learned from it. For our marketing to do that is essential. Guess what? This is a documentary. It's difficult to get the kind of attention needed to get someone out of their house to come see your film on Saturday night. So, if we've got the best possible idea to get this movie in front of people, you hate it when people stand in your way. I feel this poster speaks to the film.

Did the MPAA explain why they decided to reconsider?
I feel like this movie is a middle-of-the-country movie. I think it's a big documentary on scale with "The Inconvenient Truth," which also has the same producer, Laurie David. Maybe in their assessment of this film, because this was a documentary, there was a larger grey area for how it was considered and where it would be shown. If "Fed Up" was the fifth installment of "The Avengers," I wonder if we would have arrived at the same result. I don't know, and I can't speak to it, but I'm just thinking out loud.

Regardless, you must be very happy with the result.
I wish I could send them flowers. I don't know who to send it to, but I appreciate them working with us. I hope they're as efficient and understanding the next time we find ourselves in a situation.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

fed up poster

Watch This Student Set Music On Fire With Help From Freaky 'Pyro Board' (VIDEO)

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Talk about a hot beat!

With the help of a "pyro board," Sune Nielsen, a masters student in physics at Denmark's Aarhus University, uses fire to represent music visually. The result, displayed in the video above, is absolutely mesmerizing.

Exactly what is this pyro board? It's a sealed metal box that allows flammable gas to mix with sound waves. Atop the box, gas flowing out of 2,500 perforations creates 2,500 individual flames that pulsate in time to the music produced below. At certain frequencies of sound, the device reveals standing waves, which appear as an unmoving pattern of flame resembling a sine wave.

This particular device was created by Fysikshow, a physics outreach program for students in Denmark.

In a demonstration for the science video blog Veritasium, Nielsen explains that the pyro board was inspired by a simpler device called a Rubens' Tube. Unlike a pryo board's matrix of perforations, Rubens' Tubes feature a single line of perforations.

A Mythbusters" video from 2008 offers a primer on Reubens' Tube physics:

[When a tone is played] through the speaker, the sound wave enters the tube, and the confined space creates reflections and interference, which combine to create a standing wave. The standing wave affects the air pressure inside the tube, which affects the amount of gas coming out of each perforation, which affects the size of each individual flame.


WATCH the pyro board in action, above. The video opens with an explanation of how the board works. Skip to 3:88 to "see" the music.

Why Being Rejected By Your Dream School Isn't The End Of The World

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Everyone's had nightmares about that classic thin envelope. It's something you dread from the time college is a mere blip on your radar, to the moment you wait with your own children to hear from the school of their dreams. No matter which way you spin it, a college rejection is never going to be fun.

But you need not worry, fellow dream school rejectees. Though the sting is still palpable, there are plenty of reasons why an initial rejection is not the end of the world.

1. These highly successful people got rejected too -- and look where they are today.

Meredith Vieira, Warren Buffett, John Kerry, Katie Couric, Steven Spielberg, Tom Brokaw and Columbia University's President Lee Bollinger all got rejected from their dream schools. But getting turned down may have been the very thing that sparked all their eventual successes. As Bollinger put it, no one should let rejections control his or her life. To "allow other people's assessment of you to determine your own self-assessment is a very big mistake," he said. "The question really is, who at the end of the day is going to make the determination about what your talents are, and what your interests are? That has to be you."

2. The sting will prepare you for facing an unstable post-college future.

A 2013 poll stated that more than 40 percent of college graduates were underemployed, and more than half of grads said getting a job was difficult. The market is still recovering, and there are twice as many college graduates working minimum wage jobs as five years ago. We know the rejection hurt, but you are so much better off having experienced it now so you are prepared for the turbulent future.

3. You may end up loving your fourth choice school more.

Students often put the emphasis on big-name schools versus the places that would fit them best. But often students who don't attend their first choice school are happiest throughout their time in college. As Shawn Abbott, the Assistant Vice President and Dean of Admissions at New York University, put it to high school students, "You will love your fourth choice school. I know that I did."

4. It forces you to step back and reevaluate the most important qualities you want in a school.

It's incredibly easy to put your dream school on a pedestal, which makes the rejection that much more difficult. Yet when you romanticize instead of rationalize, you may overlook some key factors about the school you wouldn't have liked if you attended it. For example, you may not have realized how key Greek life would be on campus, or you might have underestimated how tiny 4,000 students would feel after two years. Getting rejected from a school you have your heart set on forces you to really prioritize the aspects you value most in a college experience, regardless of the school name.

5. Going to a less prestigious school doesn't mean you'll have a less prestigious future.

According to a 2011 study by Alan Krueger of Princeton University and Stacy Dale of Mathematica Policy Research, students who were rejected by highly selective schools eventually raked in salaries nearly identical to those earned by the students who went to those schools. "Even if students don't get in, the fact that they are confident enough to apply indicates they are ambitious and hardworking, which are qualities that will help them regardless of where they go to school," Krueger said. These less measurable traits, aka "unobserved student ability," could be the key to your future success in the job market.

6. The odds were never in your favor, anyway.

It's very easy to take a rejection personally and to imagine that the admissions office had some vendetta against you and your application. It's not that simple. Universities like Stanford accepted only 5 percent of their applicants for the upcoming school year, a new low amongst the most prestigious schools. The number of applicants has increased dramatically the past few decades and a higher number of applications generally leads to the acceptance of a smaller percentage of the students who apply. Between the high number of applicants, budget cuts, in-state versus out-of state quotas and preferential treatment for alumni's children, the odds were literally never in your favor.

7. Your sadness means someone else's joy.

Somewhere in the world, a student less fortunate and more fit for the school got an acceptance letter for your spot, and they have you to thank. Former Globe columnist David Nyhan wrote a piece in 1987 that still rings very true today:

This is the important thing: They didn't reject you. They rejected your resume. They gave some other kid the benefit of the doubt. Maybe that kid deserved a break. Don't you deserve a break? Sure. You'll get one. Maybe this is the reality check you needed. Maybe the school that does take you will be good. Maybe this is the day you start to grow up.

Bad habits you can change; bad luck is nothing you can do anything about.


8. When it comes to getting a job, where you went to college probably won't make or break it.

Though you might imagine seeing "Harvard" on top of a resume would instantaneously impress an employer, there are other factors that matter significantly more. Newsweek published a survey in 2010 that showed in terms of hiring, employers ranked experience, confidence and even how you look above where a job applicant went to school. That means you should be focusing on internship and leadership experience, not the college sweatshirt you wear.

9. Rejection might be the very thing that motivates you to succeed.

J.K. Rowling was famously turned down 12 times before Bloomsbury agreed to publish the first Harry Potter book. Just a few years later, she became the first billionaire author. What happened when Steve Jobs got fired from Apple? He made an unexpected comeback that's still spoken of today. Jobs attributed his eventual success to his initial failure in his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University:

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter into one of the most creative periods of my life ... Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love.

These Trippy Drug Scenes Are The Perfect Accompaniment For Your 4/20 Smoke-Out Session

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We've rounded up a handful of trippy drug scenes that can accompany the herbal remedies you enjoy on Easter Sunday (or 4/20 -- whichever holiday you choose to celebrate, really). You'll recognize these sequences for fisheye lenses, hypnotic scores and characters' sudden deep thoughts, because all those things are synonymous with a good smoke-out session, right?

14 Netflix Movies That Will Make Or Break Your 4/20 High

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Celebrating 4/20 is fundamentally easier than prepping for any other holiday. All you really need is your homegirl Mary Jane and your cousin's uncle's sister's roommate's Netflix password. Sounds pretty simple, right?

While a little bit of weed can make even an infomercial seem pretty cool, there are certain movies you need to steer clear of if you want to keep your buzz in tact. Similarly, surfing through all those options on Netflix can leave you, oh, I don't know ... dazed and confused?

So, we've put together a list of the seven best and seven worst movies to watch on Netflix this 4/20.

Disclaimer: We've skipped over some cliche stoner films you've probably seen a million times (e.g. "Friday," "Pineapple Express," "Half Baked," "Dazed And Confused") to make for a less predictable list. But if you don't know who "The Dude" is, look into that.

Best movies to watch on Netflix on 4/20:

"Clerks" (1994)



If you don't already get your weed from a guy like Jay, you'll wish you did. Cult classic.


"Samsara" (2011)



For the worldly -- or perhaps otherworldly -- stoner, this documentary with no narration will make you think, man.


"Dumbo" (1941)



It's not the happiest or the most politically correct Disney movie ever made, but this hallucination scene is absolutely bonkers.



"Super Troopers" (2001)



We said we'd stay away from the obvious cliches, but watching "Super Troopers" is like a rite of passage for the modern-day stoner.



"Beavis and Butt-head Do America" (1996)



Every scene in this movie is 4/20 appropriate, but nothing beats their INSANE psychedelic desert hallucination.



"Donnie Darko" (2001)



Though this creepy flick definitely has potential to bug you out, it practically doesn't make sense unless you're high.


"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988)



If the trippy interaction between humans and cartoons isn't enough for you, the quotable dialogue and goofy humor will--ahem-- draw you in.



Worst movies to watch on Netflix for 4/20

"Jiro Dreams Of Sushi" (2001)



This film about an 85-year-old sushi master is inspirational when you're sober; if you're stoned, it'll just leave you with a bad case of the munchies and an overwhelming sense of underachievement.


"Jesus Camp" (2006)



Somewhere between depressing and terrifying, this documentary about an evangelical Christian camp is a recipe for a bad trip.



"The Human Centipede" (2009)



If you've somehow managed to escape hearing about this disgusting movie, you're better off that way.


"Blue Valentine" (2010)



This realistic romance proves there's no such thing as a happy ending. Not very 4/20 friendly.



"Jumanji" (1995)



Because this terrifying film, which exists under the guise of a children's movie, will ravage your soul.



"Hotel Rwanda" (2004)



It's about genocide. (That said, everyone should see this heart-wrenching true story -- just not on 4/20.)



"LOL" (2012)



This coming-of-age movie starring Miley Cyrus will make you do everything but LOL (lol, right?), mainly because it's awful.



Happy 4/20!

cluelessweed

Inside The World's Ongoing Obsession With Vinyl Records

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April 19 marks the eighth annual Record Store Day, which celebrates independently-owned music sellers.

This musical day falls on the heels of a highly-anticipated book that documents the worldwide obsession with vinyl records. Nearly two years ago, photographer and record collector Eilon Paz decided to embark on a journey to photograph people around the world whose record collections trumped his own. Almost two years since his Kickstarter campaign, Paz's book "Dust And Grooves" will finally be released on Saturday.

Paz told HuffPost Live's Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani that his perspective shifted as he became more and more involved in the act of photographing vinyl collectors and owners.

"As I started, I was looking for these kind of images -- like rooms full of records, shelves floor to ceiling," Paz said. "But that eventually evolved into more in-depth things and more content, like looking for the right stories and just going into [the] adventures [of] record collectors."

Sheila Burgle, a DJ and record collector, also joined the HuffPost Live conversation to discuss her love of vinyl and why her collection is worth the time and money she spends building it.

"The time is what is so enjoyable. It’s like going on a treasure hunt, really, when you know what you’re looking for and when you find it," Burgle said.

Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation about the worldwide obsession on vinyl below:

We're Ready For Our Robot Poet Overlords

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A survey released this week revealed the American public to be skeptical that teleportation, lunar colonies or automated weather control will be achieved in the next 50 years. Yet another sci-fi scenario seemed more probable: Half of us are prepared for the dawn of artworks by computer Picassos, Brontes and perhaps even Baryshnikovs that can pass for human creations.

This level of optimism, at a time when robot artistry is still in its infancy, says more about our increasingly cozy relationship with technology than it does about the state of the gadgetry itself. It reflects confidence that our brainpower -- and even our creative genius -- will soon be outranked by that of brilliant machines.

According to the Pew Research Center study, which polled 1,001 American adults on predictions for the future, 51 percent of respondents expect that within 50 years, computers will be capable of creating art that is indistinguishable from works by homo sapiens. (By comparison, 39 percent expect to see teleportation, 33 percent think we’ll have colonized other planets and 19 percent predict we’ll be able to press a button and, in the literal sense, make it rain.)

The survey comes as we're hearing more about analytically minded, artificially intelligent algorithms that can assume the duties of human chauffeurs, lawyers, accountants and even journalists (NEVER!).

Pew's finding suggests that we fully expect robots and software to replace us at our desks, but, believing them capable of even greater cognitive feats, see this as merely the start of a broader mechanization. Though computer scientists emphasize that machines are still confined to repetitive, rule-based tasks, we apparently think it's only a matter of time before Siris of the world evolve from booking tickets to mimicking Beckett. We're already entertaining the idea of software that can move our spirits, reflect the human condition and be a sensitive genius, rather than an efficient robotic slave.

“That [Pew] statistic is more of a sociological comment than it is a technological comment because it represents changing human perceptions about technology, rather than any significant changes in computer generative art,” said Oscar Schwartz, a doctorate student researching a dissertation on robot poetry and the creator of a Turing test for poetry called Bot or Not. This mindset, he says, is "preparing us for a kind of interaction with technology [where] computers are no longer a blank notebook, but something we interact with dynamically."

At the same time, Schwartz argued that the data point underscores growing intimacy with devices. Believing smartphones to be sympathetic companions may be a prerequisite to feeling moved by their artistic works.

"We’re emotionally and philosophically ready to deal with the idea of computers generating art," said Schwartz. "That's for a number of reasons, probably first and foremost of which is our constant proximity to technology and how integrated it is to our daily lives."

"When that starts to happen," Schwartz added, "people would probably start creating emotional bonds with various pieces of technology and feeling human-like things toward their devices."

So how close are we to this goal of human-like computer art?

On Schwartz's Bot or Not website, which challenges visitors to guess whether a poem's author is mortal or digital, readers are already being fooled by bot poets. Computer scientist Alan Turing posited that a computer could be said to be intelligent if, in text-based chats with humans, it could convince 30 percent of its interlocutors that they were conversing with another person. The computer-generated poems on Bot or Not have been so successful in hitting that mark, that Schwartz has raised the bar.

"Most of the computer poems on the database of 300 poems easily pass the Turing test," said Schwartz, a "passing" score meaning at least 30 percent of people mistakenly attribute human authorship to a bot writer. He's made it more challenging: A poem "passes" if 60 percent of readers think a computer poem was written by a human. About five or six have already passed.

"[T]hat's a massive statistic," insisted Schwartz. "Sixty percent means it’s no longer chance -- that most people would think the poem was written by a human."

Pew may have asked the wrong question, however. Robot poetry, paintings or plays may not need to be indistinguishable from a person's to be successful. Witness the Web's love for @Horse_ebooks, a Twitter account that attracted thousands of followers with sometimes funny, sometimes poetic meditations churned out by a clever spam bot. Or so its fans assumed until last year. The humans were crushed to learn their bot bard was, in fact, just two guys at a keyboard.

Queer New World: Radically Creating And Existing Together

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This is the twenty-fifth and final installment in an ongoing series that explores drag culture and the nightlife scene in Brooklyn, N.Y. Over the past several years, following the large-scale exodus of artists across the East River and into northern Brooklyn, those engaged in drag culture in this outer borough have created a new, queer world entirely their own. Accompanied by a larger movement to understand drag culture outside of the pageant circuit, many individuals engaged in the drag community in this borough approach drag culture through a nontraditional lens of "alternative" drag or performance art, enabled largely by the malleable and queer nature of this part of New York.

Over the past six months, HuffPost Gay Voices Associate Editor James Nichols sought to provide a platform for the spectrum of artists, performers and events that collectively form the Queer New World of the drag and nightlife scene in northern Brooklyn, N.Y.

Having been both restructured and extended at points, the project aimed to evolve alongside the narrative of Brooklyn drag and mirror the nature of performance in this part of New York City. In the end, Queer New World involved the contributions of 21 different performers with a wide-range of styles, including self-identified drag queens, drag kings, one cisgender female drag queen and various embodiments of drag artists.



Queer New World also brought visibility to four specific events in the Brooklyn nightlife scene that in some way represent the aesthetic of many major events in this outer borough. Bushwig drag festival served as the first featured event, a groundbreaking new festival that both builds on the legacy of Wigstock and forges a new space for radical, artistic queer expression and new practices in community culture.

In contrast, Alotta Stuff Live Auction followed this feature several weeks later -- a uniquely Brooklyn event that provides community members the chance to snatch eclectic and low-cost clothing at a live auction within a safe, queer space.

The Brooklyn Nightlife Awards immediately followed, a massive community effort curated by Merrie Cherry that serves as an important opportunity to recognize, honor and celebrate both collaborative and individual accomplishments within Brooklyn nightlife and the cultural production occurring throughout this outer borough.

Finally, Mr(s) Williamsburg functioned as the last featured event, a round-robin, nine-week tournament inclusive of all forms of artistic expression and performance.

Separate from these events, HuffPost asked each artist and performer featured in Queer New World to be a part of this series because of their specific role in evolving and augmenting the drag and nightlife scene in northern Brooklyn -- all of which owes a massive debt to the rich history of drag and artistic performance in New York City over the past several decades.

In an effort to step back from the singular installments of Queer New World and formulate a larger perspective about the radical potential for queer identity, experience and new practices in community culture in this scene, we reached out to each individual featured in this series to hear their thoughts on one final question:

"As an artist and performer, what do you consider to be the most important thing that you've personally contributed to the Queer New World that is the Brooklyn drag and nightlife community?"





While the Queer New World of northern Brooklyn isn't new in a lot of ways, the radical potential for a world that queers actually want to live in feels more tangible than ever within this scene. In many ways, the intersecting factors of a thirst to create and perform, the necessary resources, gentrifying neighborhoods and a community of people that want to live, exist and thrive outside a world of mainstream cultural expectations are really what allows this idealistic sentiment to be a reality.

This community is remarkably important for what it means to be queer in the age of gay marriage and the gradual folding of LGBT identity into cultural consciousness. There are queer people that don't have these same, more mainstream values, ideals or conceptions about what makes life meaningful, fulfilling or important, and this scene is acting as both a preservation of those ideas and a platform to push them further through expression, performance and identity.

While all things are impermanent and the factors enabling the scene right now aren't sustainable forever, what is happening in the queer community in northern Brooklyn in this moment is notable and will, at some point, have a place within the history of queer performance and identity. For now, it's important to at least recognize the radical potential invested in living outside of cultural boundaries and expectations, and what is means to create and exist, together, in a Queer New World.

Yes, A Woman Is 'Giving Birth' To A Painting In This Very NSFW Video

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Oh, performance art. You never cease to amaze us.

The latest instance of eye-opening art spectacle comes to us courtesy of Swiss artist Milo Moire. During this year's Art Cologne fair in Germany, she "gave birth" to an artwork by seemingly squeezing paint eggs out of her vagina onto an empty canvas. She did so in a very public space outside the fair, providing unsuspecting passersby with a visual overload of a nude woman laboring -- quite literally -- for the sake of art.

"The 'PlopEgg Painting'...releases a loose chain of thoughts -- about the creation fear, the symbolic strength of the casual and the creative power of the femininity," the video's description reads. "At the end of this almost meditative art birth performance the stained canvas is folded up, smoothed and unfolded to a symmetrically reflected picture, astonishingly coloured and full of [strength]."

Moire is no stranger to boundary-pushing performance. For her "Script System" piece, the artist rode public transit in her birthday suit, surprising more than a few commuters with her unabashed nudity. She follows in the footsteps of a long line of provocative artists -- Marina Abramovic, Yoko Ono, Franco B -- who have used forms of nudity as a means of artistic disruption.

For more on the world of contemporary performance art, check out Casey Jenkins's "Vaginal Knitting" here.

h/t HuffPost Canada

Prince Releases 'The Breakdown,' Promises New Album And Remasters

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Less than 24 hours after announcing his rekindled partnership with Warner Bros. Records, Prince released a new single titled "The Breakdown," a pleasant ballad. Under the new partnership, Prince has promised a new album, the release of previously unheard material and remastered content, including a deluxe version of his soundtrack album "Purple Rain" for its 30th anniversary.

"A brand-new studio album is on the way and both Warner Bros. Records and Eye are quite pleased with the results of the negotiations and look forward to a fruitful working relationship," Prince said in a statement Friday, April 18.

It looks like Prince's days of writing "slave" on his face and changing his name to a symbol are finally put to rest. Listen to "The Breakdown" below.

These Edward Hopper-Inspired Dollhouses Will Make You Fall In Love With The Indoors

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Here’s what the images below are not: They’re not the work of Edward Hopper, they’re not paintings, and they aren’t even real scenes.

2014-04-18-hopper1.jpg


Created by the photographer, “assemblist” and self-proclaimed “failed painter,” Richard Tuschman, "Hopper Meditations" features tiny bedrooms with real models photoshopped into them. To enact the illusion, Tuschman built dioramas, mixing standard dollhouse furniture with his own creations. These he photographed and digitally altered, inserting images of models shot -- by him -- against a plain backdrop. In an interview with the photography blog Feature Shoot, Tuschman explains the appeal of this painstaking method: a “great deal of control over every aspect of the process, and I can do it all in my small studio.”

2014-04-18-hopper2.jpg


He also has Hopper to thank. Tuschman was heavily inspired by the American painter, from his quintessentially New York settings to his treatment of light to his “economy of means.” A single beam through a window, by Hopper’s brush, can reveal a galaxy of feeling on his subject’s face. That’s the effect Tuschman tried to channel, and somehow did.

2014-04-18-hopper3.jpg


At Feature Shoot, Tuschman talks about how the exercise of conjuring reality gave him new appreciation for just how detailed the spaces we live in are. Looking through the series produces the same feeling.

2014-04-18-hopper4.jpg


36 Stoner-Approved Songs For Your 4/20 Smoke Sessions

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There's nothing more important than having the perfect playlist prepared for your 4/20 smoke sessions. While just about every song sounds awesome when high, some cuts stand above the rest.

We broke down some of our favorites into six sections: old school hip hop, new hip hop, classic rock and all things inspired by the hazy years of the '60s/'70s, modern rock, electronic and the music that doesn't fit neatly into one category, so we will just call it indie or whatever.

Old School Hip Hop

Wu-Tang Clan - “Method Man”


A Tribe Called Quest - “Can I Kick It”


People Under The Stairs - “Acid Raindrops"


The Pharcyde - “Passin’ Me By"


Cypress Hill - “Hits From The Bong”


Nas - “It Ain’t Hard To Tell"



New Hip Hop

Ground Up - “Late Night Special”


Curren$y - “Elevator Musik”


Aesop Rock - “Water”


Black Hippy - “Say Wassup”


Kid Cudi - “Daps & Pounds”


The Underachievers - “Aquinini"



Classic Rock

Led Zeppelin - “Dazed and Confused"


Creedence Clearwater Revival - “Suzie Q”


Pink Floyd - “Shine on You Crazy Diamonds, Pts. 1-5”


Sheavy - “Born in a Daze”


Jimi Hendrix - “Purple Haze”


The Who - “Eminence Front"



Modern Rock

Circa Survive - “The Difference Between Medicine and Poison is in the Dose"


The Mars Volta - “Cotopaxi”


Envy On The Coast - “Clergy”


This Town Needs Guns - “Cat Fantastic”


Rx Bandits - “Overcome (The Recapitulation)"


Strawberry Girls - “Negro Spiritual"



Electronic

STS9 - “Scheme”


Chrome Sparks - “Marijuana”


Clams Casino - “I’m God”


Black Moth Super Rainbow - “Forever Heavy”


Glitch Mob - “Starve The Ego, Feed The Soul"


Pretty Lights - “Future Blind” or “Around The Block"



Indie (Or Whatever)

Gorillaz - “Empire Ants"


Volcano Choir - “Comrade"


Washed Out - “Great Escape”


Bombay Bicycle Club - “Home By Now”


Radiohead - “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”


Beck - “Waking Light"

Sniper Pug Is A Total Maverick

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Sure, he may be a dog and he may have a drinking problem and he may even be a maverick, but Sniper Dog is the best damn soldier anyone has ever worked with and he WILL save the day... eventually... sort of. But not really.

WARNING: There is some non-pug-related violence in this short. War is hell, y'all.

Via Tastefully Offensive

Holy Days, Blood Moon Nights And A Dragon: Week In Photos, April 13 - 20

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Nothing quite compares to the power of a photograph to communicate the goings on in the world. Ranging from the serious to the silly, these photos offer peeks into what happened around the globe this week.

1.A man looks at the forest fire in Valparaiso, Chile, April 13, 2014.
chile fire
(Tom Azzopardi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

2. Members of the 'Cristo de la Buena Muerte' brotherhood take part in a Holy Week procession in Zamora, Spain, April 15, 2014.
cristo de la buena muerte
(AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

3. A supporter of Algerian presidential candidate Ali Benflis at an election rally in Rouiba, east of Algiers.
algeria april
(AP Photo/Sidali Djarboub)

4. The South Korean Coast Guard casts a search light over a ferry that sunk off the coast near Jindo, April 17, 2014.
korea ferry
(AP Photo/Yonhap)

5. Ukrainians demonstrate in the eastern city of Donetsk, April 17, 2014.
ukraine
(Burak Akbulut/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

6. Voters show their ID cards as they stand in line at a polling station in Jammu, India, April 17, 2014.
india
(Nitin Kanotra/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

7. The moon is pictured during a lunar eclipse over the El Salvador del Mundo Monument in San Salvador on April 15, 2014.
salvador
(JOSE CABEZAS/AFP/Getty Images)

8. A Komodo dragon arrives at the Crocodile Farm in Pierrelatte, in the Barcelona Zoo, April 15, 2014.
dragons
(PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty Images)

9. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men burn leavened items in preparation for the Passover holiday in Bnei Brak, Israel, April 14, 2014.
passover
(AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

10. A Burmese monk lights incense during prayers at the Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon to celebrate the Burmese new year, April 17, 2014.
cambodia
(Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

79-Year-Old Tony Boland Joins Elementary School Band

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DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — One member of the Kennedy Elementary School band in Dubuque brings a certain maturity to his playing.

That's because Tony Boland is a 79-year-old flute player.

Boland asked about joining the fifth graders in the band after volunteering at the school, which his grandchildren attended, for more than a decade. He helps children with their reading, noting he recalls struggling with his reading as a child.

He started playing the flute a number of years ago, when his wife suggested getting rid of their daughter's flute.

Boland knew that his progress would be slow unless he played with others.

"When you play alone, it's not as fast when you're playing in a band," he told the Telegraph Herald (http://bit.ly/RiiWKw).

Band director Brian Enabnit thought Boland would make a terrific addition to the band.

"He's great. He's encouraging to the students around him," Enabnit said.

Boland practices with the students weekly and performs with them regularly, including at the Dubuque Community School District's Band Festival earlier this month.

Fifth-grade student Courtney Less has been impressed by her older classmate.

"He's kind of a more experienced player," Courtney said. "All of us are messing up, but he doesn't."

___

Information from: Telegraph Herald, http://www.thonline.com

Clowns Without Borders Brings Its Act To Conflict Zones To Let Kids Just Be Kids

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Clowns, acrobats, aerial artists and refugee camps. One of these things is not like the other. But nonprofit Clowns Without Borders is looking to upend that line of thinking. From conflict zones to natural disasters, the organization brings the theatrics of the circus to the most unexpected places.

Tim Cunningham, Director of Clowns Without Borders’ U.S. chapter and a clown himself, talked to The Huffington Post about the organization and what it really means to “bring in the clowns.”

Q: WHAT IS THE MISSION OF CLOWNS WITHOUT BORDERS?


The mission of clowns without borders is pretty simple. We work to share joy and laughter in zones of conflict and crisis around the world. We only go where we’re invited. We send professional artists to provide free clown performances and also workshops in the circus arts. That’s our main mission and our side mission is that we also work to advocate for the communities that we meet and work with when we come back to our home countries.

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Credit: Samuel Rodríguez for Payasos Sin Fronteras

Q: WHY DO KIDS IN CRISIS NEED CLOWNING?


I think in the humanitarian world — and even beyond the humanitarian world — children are the first group in any population to lose their rights. When there’s a disaster, when there’s a war, when there’s an economic crisis: kids lose their rights and they lose their voice. I think children lose the ability and the right to be a child and the clown brings that back to them. The clown gives them permission to be a child again and you can’t rely on lawmakers or legislators or policy makers to permit those rights but a clown… a clown brings the policy of play.

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Credit: Samuel Rodríguez for Payasos Sin Fronteras

Q: SO HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE CLOWNING?


I think clowning is physical comedy. It is not always a red nose, it is not always make-up. A clown is an eccentric character or a group of eccentric characters living in the world and trying just to function in the world that we know. And what is funny is that no matter how hard they try, they keep failing and then they bounce back up. So a clown is the epitome of resilience and the resiliency for clowns is funny — and when we show that resiliency that is also a way to model how to be resilient in extremely absurd situations, whether they’re tragic absurd or comedic absurd.

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Credit: Samuel Rodríguez for Payasos Sin Fronteras

Q: HOW DOES CLOWNS WITHOUT BORDERS DETERMINE WHERE TO GO AND WHEN TO GO THERE?


The policy is to only go where we’re invited and we try to be as available as possible to go where and when we’re invited. We have no regulations that say you can’t go here or you can go here. We’ll go into war zones, crisis zones—so long as we know that it’s relatively safe and we’re wanted there. There is a lot of thinking in the humanitarian world that as soon as you can start bringing in psycho-social support -- as well as food, as well as medicine, as well as basic relief -- you’re going to have lower prevalence of PTSD.

policyofplay
Credit: Samuel Rodríguez for Payasos Sin Fronteras

Q: HOW ARE YOU FUNDED?


All of our artists are volunteers. No one gets paid anything for what they do. And yet we only work with professional artists, you have to have performance experience, performance credentials. The funding that we do have covers the cost of travel, airfare, insurance, medical support — but everybody comes in knowing that they will make no profit from the work that they do. We’re also a pretty small organization. Last year our working budget was 43,000 dollars. We did 12 projects, 11 of those were international and our audience totals were about 40,000 kids. So, 40,000 smiles for 43,000 dollars — I think that’s a pretty good turn around. That said, over 90% of our funding is all individual donors. Our average donation this year so far is about $80. Our biggest individual donors giving a couple thousand dollars. It’s small, it’s really grass roots and I think that also gives us a lot of freedom in not having to follow anyone’s politics. We’re free of politics, we’re free of religion — we’re not associated with any sort of dogma. Other than laughter — laughter is our dogma.

rednoseinmirror
Credit: Samuel Rodríguez for Payasos Sin Fronteras

Q: SO YOU'VE GOT JUGGLING, MAGIC, ACROBATICS — WHAT ELSE GOES INTO A BIT?


Tumbling, slapstick comedy, chase scenes, audience collaboration, dancing. Last year we did a trip to Haiti where we actually were able to bring a portable trapeze rig down so we had an aerialist who would fly above the heads of the kids. It was beautiful to see some of those images — so we really do work with whatever our artists bring to the table.

aerial jump clownshot
Credit: Samuel Rodríguez for Payasos Sin Fronteras

Q: OF THE PERFORMANCES THAT YOU HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN, WHICH WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE?


There was a moment in my first or second trip to Haiti, 2006 or 2007; we were working in a very rural community that had access to nothing. A lot of the kids were really malnourished — chronic malnourishment is just a way of life for Haiti, a lot of kids not living beyond the age of 5. I was walking away from the show and I felt this weight on my back, like somebody had just thrown this rice sack on me or something. So I realized it was one of my favorite kids that I had gotten to know in the community who had snuck up on me, run up and jumped on my back and before I could do anything he had climbed up and was standing on my shoulders, which is a move we do at the end of all of our shows. So I was talking to him and I started running around and he was laughing and we looked up at the moon which was just this bright, beautiful full moon and I told him, “We’re going to climb up to the moon” and he looked at the moon and he kind of slapped me in the head and started laughing and he said “No, no, no, no, no Tim — we’re gonna climb up and then we’re gonna eat the moon.” And he was laughing and I was laughing and then he ran off but it struck me. I mean, this kid is really malnourished. He was 12 years old at the time but he looked like he was 8 just from lack of nutrition. But I realized that despite whatever situation you happen to be born into, there’s a chance to be playful, there’s a chance to be funny, there’s a chance to make a joke. Imagination, no matter how sick or poor or hungry you are, your imagination can always be on fire and churning and creating new ideas and new games and new play.

clownswithoutborders
Credit: Samuel Rodríguez for Payasos Sin Fronteras

Q: SO CLOWNS WITHOUT BORDERS HELPS KIDS IN DESPERATE SITUATIONS USE THEIR IMAGINATION.

Yeah. But I want to go back to that idea for a second because we don’t give imagination. We share imagination, we catalyze imagination and allow the kids that we work with the chance to let their minds just explode with whatever creative thing they want to do. And maybe, for a moment, not worry about the situation that they’re in and simply be kids.

wideeyedkids
Credit: Samuel Rodríguez for Payasos Sin Fronteras

Learn more about Clowns Without Borders and how you can support their work here.

clown makeup
Credit: Samuel Rodríguez for Payasos Sin Fronteras

New 'Godzilla' TV Spot Reveals Reptilian Monster In Full

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The newest "Godzilla" TV spot, titled "Nature Has An Order," showcases some brand new footage, including a full look at the immensity of the reptilian monster. The 30-second clip also gives a quick glimpse into the personal drama of the movie's main characters.

Watch the preview below, and catch the movie in theaters starting May 16.

First Lady Michelle Obama To Appear On 'Nashville'

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"Nashville" fans get excited because Michelle Obama will be making a cameo appearance.

In an episode airing May 7 on ABC, Rayna James (Connie Britton) enlists the help of the First Lady, as well as other big names like Kellie Pickler, to host a charity concert at Fort Campbell after finding out that Luke Wheeler (Will Chase) has been injured in Afghanistan. The episode leads up to the Season 2 finale on May 14.

This guest spot follows the First Lady's appearance on the "Parks and Recreation" finale.

"Nashville" airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST on ABC.

Steven Spielberg Is On Board For 'Goonies' Sequel, Says Richard Donner

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As reported by TMZ, Richard Donner has stated that Steven Spielberg is on board for the "Goonies" sequel.

While there is no other information as to how Spielberg, who wrote the story and was the executive producer for the original 1985 film, will be involved -- this is a great first step. Donner wants the original cast to be involved, and with Spielberg's hand in, there's a good chance the whole gang will reunite.

While we impatiently wait for more information on the sequel, take a look at just how much Chunk consumed throughout the original film's duration.

[Via TMZ]

Beautiful Pysanky, Ukrainian Easter Eggs, Are Unbelievably Elaborate (PHOTOS)

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These aren't your average Easter egg!

Ukrainians celebrate Easter with a traditional art form called psyanky, which involves drawing intricate patterns on eggs using a stylus and wax, reports NPR.

"When the nation of Ukraine accepted Christianity in 988 A.D., the egg was adopted as a religious symbol of the Easter celebration-both as the egg which was eaten to first break the fast of Lent and in the form of pysanky, decorated with designs of Christian significance," says the Ukrainian American Society of Texas.

"The egg was compared to the tomb from which Christ arose and the old pagan symbols were given new Christian meanings-the old sun designs now stood for the Son of God, triangles stood for the Holy Trinity, stars showed God’s love toward man, dots represented Mary’s tears, and crosses represented Christ’s suffering for us," they explain.

See them here:














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Artist Mark Humphreys shows off some of his recently created pysanky at his Philadelphia home on Wednesday, March 8, 1995. The symbols used on tradition Ukranian pysanky have survived thousands of years through the advent of christianity, communism, and the westernization of eastern Europe. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

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