14 Fabulous Cards For Book Lovers

April 30, 2014, 5:17 am

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From Edith Wharton to Henry Miller, great authors have long turned to snail mail in order to express their love, exchange intellectual ruminations, or stay in touch with friends. And luckily for us, these letters often contain significant insights into the lives of these eminent writers, as well as exemplifying marvelous writing in their own right. Many writers have accumulated so much fascinating mail that their letters have even been compiled into books.

Nowadays, letters seem to be going the way of the dinosaur as emails, texts, and even tweets offer quicker, easier communication. But let's not give up so easily -- a beautifully penned note represents more thought and care than a Facebook message, and it's something the recipient, at least, might treasure for years.

Sitting down to compose a full letter may seem daunting, so start out with something a little bit more simple. Take one of these lovely literature-inspired cards, add a thoughtful note inside, and make someone's day!

Here are 14 fabulous literary cards that will bring out the writer in you:

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These Dreamy Photos Answer The Question: 'What Would I Have Looked Like In Another Decade?'

April 30, 2014, 5:18 am

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From the scrunchies and jean jackets that dominated the 1980s to the plaid shirts and heavy boots that defined 1990s grunge, everyone has their favorite teenage fashion trend. But what would we have worn if we were flower children of the 1970s or flappers of the 1920s? Ohio State University student Annalisa Hartlaub was able to paint a picture by depicting each decade's quintessential mainstream and counterculture looks. Using herself as a model and tinting each picture to realistically reflect the technology of the decade, Hartlaub's "Counter // Culture" photo project catalogs nearly 100 years of fashion history from 1920 through today.

The sixteen-year-old artist created the collection primarily for her photography class, but Hartlaub has always had a love of the alternative. "I've always been fascinated, and a bit infatuated, with counterculture and how it shapes society and mainstream culture as well. So I decided to mix that interest with my love of fashion, makeup, and photography to create something," Hartlaub told The Huffington Post.

1920s



1930s



1940s



1950s



1960s



1970s



1980s



1990s



2000s



2010s




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The 'Star Wars: Episode VII' Cast Still Has Room For Another Female Lead

April 30, 2014, 5:46 am

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After space ages of speculation, the "Star Wars: Episode VII" cast was finally revealed on Tuesday. Director J.J. Abrams included many original cast members and up-and-coming stars in the film, but only one actress, newcomer Daisy Ridley, in addition to franchise veteran Carrie Fisher. According to The Hollywood Reporter, however, there's room in Abrams' sequel for an additional female lead as well.

Sources told THR that Abrams is seeking to fill a substantial female role. Though no additional details have been provided, earlier this year, THR noted that "Episode VII" was seeking a mixed-race women in her 20s to play a key part.

Back in March, Abrams reportedly met with Lupita Nyong'o. At the time, THR's Borys Kit revealed that Nyong'o was being considered to play an offspring of Obi-Wan Kenobi. According to the rumor mill, British actress Maisie Richardson-Sellers was also allegedly in the running. Although, at this point, it is unclear if the "Kenobi offspring" role even still exists.

For her part, Ridley is expected to fill one of the lead roles in the film, alongside John Boyega and Oscar Isaac. Because there is always an infinite amount of speculation around "Star Wars," some -- including HuffPost Entertainment -- have surmised that the British actress is playing Han Solo and Princess Leia's daughter.

Jean-Michel Basquiat Creates His Own Racial History In 'Undiscovered Genius Of The Mississippi Delta'

April 30, 2014, 6:00 am

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Gaze upon Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Undiscovered Genius Of The Mississippi Delta," and your eyes are forced to dart from one ambiguous scribble to the next. The seemingly random bits of symbolism -- a quasi-anatomical sketch here, the crude face of a cow there -- appear smudged and chaotic before your eyes. Like a graffiti-infused response to Picasso's "Guernica" or a Deep Southern take on "The Garden of Earthly Delights," the masterpiece forces you to digest 15-feet worth of text and color, piecing together the five canvases worth of select African American history.


Jean-Michel Basquiat, Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta, Acrylic, oilstick and paper collage on five joined canvases, Overall: 49 x 185 ½ in. 124.5 x 471.2 cm, Executed in 1983

The painting's title and the banner, "The Deep South 1912-1936-1951," hint at the meaning of the tangled imagery. The visuals trek through moments of southern past, from Mark Twain to cotton farming to slavery auctions. Repetition of words mimics the beating of a drum, while the presence of animals like rats and cows harken back to the inhumanity rampant more than a century ago. Basquiat himself makes an cameo in the mashup of his country's cultural roots, appearing as "fig. 23" -- just another symbol in his personal and historical collage.

“'Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta' is a stunning combination of subject-matter, format, and technique," Grégoire Billault, a Senior Vice President in Sotheby's Contemporary Art Department, explained to HuffPost. "By coupling the symbols and phrases most closely associated with the African American story with the abstract expressionist painterly technique in the multi-panel format, Jean-Michel Basquiat created an exceptional masterpiece of history painting.”



The 1983 mural is heading to Sotheby's next month, estimated to fetch around $20 million when it hits the auction block on May 14 during the Contemporary Art Evening sale. It will accompany seven other works spanning the late artist's short-lived career, billed as a collection of SAMO's "most political work."

From a smattering of early portraits to his five-piece mural, the paintings manage to showcase both Basquait's penchant for repeated symbols and the frenzied breadth of style encapsulated in his canvases. Sloppily aligned text dances next to primitive scrawls, while emotive self-renderings mix with the dark humor of a urinating dog. Jumping from readymades to collage to figurative pieces, the works brought the rough and tumble of graffiti to the walls of galleries. Disparate and overtly rebellious, it was just what the eighties art world craved.

"Basquiat's art gave him the image of a wild street kid skulking around at night painting graffiti," William Wilson of The LA Times wrote in 1988, shortly after the artist's death. "He started out wanting to be a cartoonist and wound up wanting to be a Star."

Scroll through a preview of the seven Basquiat works below and let us know your thoughts on the selection in the comments.

7 Tarot Readers Who Are Shaping Brooklyn's Alternative Spiritual Community (PHOTOS)

April 30, 2014, 6:07 am

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Someone looking for a tarot reading in Brooklyn, New York would not have to search for too long. The city is rich with tarot readers from many backgrounds and belief sets.

From witch covens to tarot readers to occult bookstores, the borough houses an active and eclectic community that has developed particularly strongly in the traditionally working-class neighborhood of Bushwick. Many of the tarot readers and spiritual explorers in this area have gathered in recent years around two focal points: the occult bookstore, Catland, and the biweekly tarot bazaar, Tarot Society. Between these and other affiliated venues, a diverse metaphysical community is forming.

Meet 7 of the tarot readers who actively shaping this community:

DAMON

Damon lights Palo Santo at Catland in Bushwick, Brooklyn. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

Damon uses the Waite-Smith and the Cagliostro decks simultaneously. He always has with him an amethyst necklace, and often amethyst crystals, a small stone spider, two crystal skulls and a dried chicken foot (given to him by a voodoo priestess). He burns sage and Palo Santo before readings. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

Damon described himself as a “nerdy boy” in childhood, raised in a Catholic family, who spent most of his time in libraries. But he was always fascinated by divination, he told HuffPost, having grown up watching his grandmother tell fortunes with playing cards. “I can’t live in nihilistic world,” he said. “To me the notion that there is a way to connect to a higher consciousness is essential.” At age 14 he asked for his own deck of tarot, and by his mid teens Damon began training with a professional tarot reader.

After leaving home, Damon hit the road. “I was a vagabond with my pack of cards,” he said, hitchhiking throughout his native South Africa with a friend. In their travels Damon and his companion developed an interested in the practices of the sangoma -- traditional root workers who use divination to communicate with spirits on behalf of the living. Damon and his friend journeyed to the Mautse Valley where the sangoma were said to live in caves while receiving spiritual training. They lived there for two months -- an experience Damon said set the tone for his future career as a "spiritual practitioner."

His own spirituality encompasses paganism and witchcraft. “I self identify very strongly as a witch, and I see my practice as a card reader as an extension of witchcraft.” In his readings Damon uses two decks simultaneously with various talismans, or sacred objects, placed on the table for added magical potency. He is most comfortable, he told HuffPost, reading from metaphysical bookstores where he can incorporate other healing traditions into his practice (i.e. writing ‘prescriptions’ with certain herbs and incense or directing clients to the right candles or oils to use for various spiritual ailments.) “I want people to feel empowered and feel that they can take agency for their own spiritual practice.”

STELLA

Stella begins a reading at Catland in Bushwick, Brooklyn. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

Stella uses the Medieval Scapini deck. She also often has a candle, a blend of cinnamon oil, frankincense oil and other oils for protection and sometimes incorporates wine, ginger tea, mugwort or vervain tea with lemon. She keeps a statue of the Egyptian cat god, Bast, next to her for protection. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

Stella bought her first tarot deck at age 13 with lunch money she had saved up. In the process of learning about the cards she befriended a classmate, Dante, who shared her interest and who would become a lifelong mentor and friend. Dante told Stella she was a “natural born witch,” a term mentioned often in the magical community and which, Stella said, refers to someone “born with their light turned on.”

“The more I do tarot,” Stella told HuffPost, “the more I understand that when I’m reading at my best it’s because I have something to say that’s helping someone.” Between being a tarot reader, a sex educator, a BDSM educator, a consent educator and also doing manual labor and service jobs, Stella is humble about her work. “I’m not trying to be a big shot. If I’m doing my job right, I’m providing a service.”

Stella describes herself as a “pragmatist.” For example, she was born with cancer in one of her hands which prevented her from using her thumb. When she was 17 she got reconstructive surgery that left her with chronic pain. To emotionally cope with the pain and reclaim that part of her body, Stella got an arrow tattoo on both of her wrists. Years later she walked into Catland, and one of the owners saw her tattoos and immediately mentioned the Norse god, Týr. According to myth, Týr was a one-handed god whose associated rune symbol was an arrow. “I wouldn’t believe in magic if I didn’t have some kind of evidence,” Stella said.

BRUNO

Bruno his cards out for a reading at a cafe in Bushwick, Brooklyn. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

Bruno uses the Golden Tarot by Liz Dean. He also brings crystals - usually a combination of quartz, amethyst and obsidian. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

For Bruno, reading tarot was never something he could share with his Catholic Italian family. He began exploring divination at the age of 15 at a time, he said, when there was a lot of interest in occultism among his peers. A friend bought him his first deck -- a practice of gifting which assumes the potency of a rite of passage for many, Bruno said.

His first phase of tarot reading was characterized by exploration, reading for his high school teachers in secret and making after school visits to a local metaphysical bookstore. “When I was younger I had more of a wild approach [to tarot reading] because I didn’t have the knowledge of the history and the symbolism.” That said, the “wildness” allowed him to tap into the tarot as an intuitive tool, Bruno told HuffPost. “Being young I felt almost more in tune to it.”

He put the cards away for several years, returning to them when he felt more “psychologically ready” to tackle the kinds of issues people might bring up in their readings. Nowadays Bruno promotes transparency in the occult community. “To me it would be beautiful if everyone could learn tarot,” he said. Bruno reads primarily at events like Tarot Society and his approach is what he describes as “new age.” “[Reading tarot is] something I do, but it’s also part of who I am.”

CRIMSON KITTY

Crimson Kitty does a reading in her apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

Crimson Kitty uses the Rider-Waite deck. On the table she also keeps a Bast athame (a Wiccan dagger) to ward off negativity, clarity spray oil to cleanse the space and purple candles. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

Crimson Kitty grew up going to church every Sunday with her Episcopalian family. Her mother read tarot on the side, which added to the family’s pastiche of metaphysical inclinations. “My mom was a total witch even though to this day she’ll deny it,” Crimson told HuffPost. When she was 12 years old Crimson asked her mom to teach her the ways of tarot, but it wasn’t until she moved to Bushwick in 2013 and met Tarot Society organizer Darcey Leonard that she began reading regularly.

With practice came skill. “I started saying things I wouldn’t normally say, words or sentences I wouldn’t normally use in my daily life.” Crimson also performs drag professionally but through tarot found a means for exploring her eclectic spirituality. “I am pagan,” Crimson told HuffPost, “but I have my own personal spirituality. I focus on a wholeness within myself.”

Her readings emphasize the connection between reader and subject. “I have everyone shuffle the deck and take their time so they put their energy in there. If they’re not giving me energy, I can’t give them anything.” After this she shuffles the deck three times and takes a moment to absorb the energy, which she describes as being “like a vacuum through my throat. When I feel that feeling, I know it’s time to begin.”

MOLLY

Molly talks with HuffPost at Catland in Bushwick, Brooklyn. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

Molly alternates between the Morgan-Greer and Rider-Waite decks. She often uses crystals (amethyst quartz and green calcite) and candles during readings.

Molly was “in the broom closet” for her first years of exploring witchcraft and tarot, she told HuffPost. She received her first deck as a gift from her mother at age 15 but didn’t begin reading for others until college. Those initial years were critical, though, for Molly to develop a personal relationship with the cards. “My deck knows me through and through,” Molly said. She turned to it in times of distress and confusion, cultivating an "inner wisdom" that would benefit her in future readings.

Several years ago Molly had what she described as a transformation. She went onto YouTube and began watching videos of protection mantras. Without noticing the time, three hours passed, inducing a state of “high” that she said lasted for four days. From then on she quit smoking, developed a yoga practice and began studying the tarot in a more focused way than she had before. “[Tarot] has a way of getting under your skin,” Molly told HuffPost.

Molly has been reading tarot professionally for a year. It has taken on renewed importance in the wake of her transformation. “Tarot has been my entrance into believing I’m a spiritual person,” Molly said. Her goal, she told HuffPost, is to “bring [these] magical practices to the mainstream” by helping others awaken their own spiritual selves.

STUART

Stuart explains a card in his apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

Stuart uses the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

“I’m not a psychic,” Stuart told HuffPost from the outset. “Nothing I do is supernatural.” Books and papers are strewn throughout his apartment, and Stuart himself can be found most days, he said, deep in study. Tarot is an field of academic inquiry for him. The cards contain messages and symbols, Stuart said, that stand alone without the help of “intuition” from the reader. “These symbols are absolute,” Stuart told HuffPost. “I only operate the deck.”

The tarot deck does hold spiritual importance for many, though, Stuart said. “People sense dimly that something is missing from their life,” and they turn to tarot with the hope of discovering some truth about their lives and feeling more “spiritually fulfilled.” Stuart himself is involved with the Asatru Folk Assembly, which he described as an iteration of the native faith traditions of northern Europe.

The burgeoning interest in tarot among the public has surprised Stuart, who began studying Western mystical traditions in high school. “I was the bottom of the totem pole for being into [mysticism],” he said. “Now it’s the height of fashion.” He began reading tarot cards in college and developed a passion for the deck’s cosmology, which he said unifies symbols of many traditions. “The deck is intended to be an accurate representation of the world.”

DAVID

David does a reading in his apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn. (Wendy George/Huffington Post)

David alternates between the Sun and Moon and Rider-Waite decks. He usually has a shiva-lingam stone and candles on the table during readings.

David first picked up a tarot deck when he was five years old, but his mother quickly told him, “It’s not time yet.” He looked elsewhere -- to magical practices, visualization and Eastern philosophies -- to develop his psychic skills. When his mother finally sat him down later in life to go through the deck card by card, he began to see the potential to help people through his readings. “If there’s a deep wound and you can help fix that, that’s one hell of a feeling.”

But David sees nothing of "magic" in tarot reading, he told HuffPost. “It’s closer to science,” he said, mentioning quantum physics, neurotransmitters and the “vibration of molecules.” Even the concepts of a god, goddess and higher power, David explained, relate to scientific phenomena that he believes form the basis for so-called supernatural experiences.

“All this stuff,” David told HuffPost, motioning to the cards, “it’s no big fucking deal.” Thinking it is, he said, leads to fear and “ego trips.” He takes the tarot and its wisdom seriously, though, saying the cards help him decode the “blips” of psychic intuition he receives every time he sits down with someone. When asked how his mind feels after all this psychic work, David replied, “Meditation helps, especially in New York.”

11 Of The Best Southern California Art Spots That Aren't In Los Angeles

April 30, 2014, 6:21 am

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With summer looming on the horizon, it's time for us Southern Californians to start planning those adventurous day trips that -- for some reason having nothing to do with the weather -- are easier to accomplish this time of the year.

To help you with your aesthetically pleasurably travels, we've compiled 11 of our favorite art destinations in the SoCal area, waiting just outside the art capital that is Los Angeles. From a U.F.O. abductee's dome to a ceramics museum to a survivalist habitat, these are the art spots too weird and wonderful to exist in L.A. (And the best news is, a lot of them are located outdoors.)

From the hidden gems to the established sites you've been meaning to check off your list, these are the creative locales only a car ride away and most definitely worth the trip. Behold, 11 art destinations waiting just outside the City of Angels.

1. Salvation Mountain




At 50 feet high and 150 feet wide, Salvation Mountain is an outsider art mecca in the middle of the SoCal desert, located about 90 minutes from Palm Springs. The colorful folk piece, created by the late Leonard Knight, combines religious scripture with an onslaught of colorful trees, flowers, suns and birds. It's made entirely of local clay, donated paint, and lots and lots of love. (Salvation Mountain, Niland, CA 92257)

2. California Scenario



This hidden sculpture garden in Costa Mesa was made by Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi, hence its nickname, "Noguchi Garden." The gem, surrounded by corporate office buildings, is a peculiar work of urban earth art and an open plaza apt for rock-jumping. The peaceful, safe space is a magical way to experience the tranquility of nature in the most unexpected of scenarios. (611 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa, 92626)

3. Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego



Located in La Jolla, the three acre oceanfront MCASD is a sunny alternative to L.A.'s MOCA. This summer, head over to watch Tim Youd retype the entirety of Raymond Chandler's "The Long Goodbye" and, at the downtown location, see James Drake's "Anatomy of Drawing and Space (Brain Trash)," a maddening compendium of 1,246 drawings, all made in the past 2 years. (MCASD La Jolla, 700 Prospect Street, La Jolla, CA 92037)

4. Integratron



Located in Landers, CA, the Integratron is a dome built in the 1950s by self-proclaimed U.F.O abductee George Van Tassel. Reportedly made following the instructions of inhabitants of planet Venus, the space is supposed to be capable of rejuvenation, anti-gravity and time travel. More realistically, a visit to the dome could feature a U.F.O. convention, yoga, skywatching, an '80s rock concert or a "sound bath," which sounds cooler than time travel in our book. (2477 Belfield Blvd. Landers, CA)

5. Museum of Latin American Art



Located in Long Beach, MOLAA is the only museum in the country dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American art. The space features a 15,000 square foot sculpture garden featuring works by artists including Los Carpinteros and Tunga. Head there this summer to see an exhibition dedicated to Frida Kahlo's personal photography collection. (628 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802)

6. Elmer Long's Bottle Ranch



Where recycling, nature and art collide, Elmer Long's Bottle Ranch features over 200 trees made from glass bottles of all shapes, sizes and colors Long collected with his father when he was a child. Long himself now spends time at the obscure art space he's created, sharing his stories with all who pass by the bewitching desert stop. Visitors can enter for free and listen to the trees as they swirl and clank in the wind. It's located between Victorville and Barstow on Route 66. (24266 National Trails Hwy, Oro Grande, CA 92368)

7. Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum



Measuring in at seven and a half acres of open land, the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum, located in Joshua Tree, is a desert oasis of assemblage sculptures made by Purifoy between 1989 and 2004. First working with material from debris from the 1965 Watts Rebellion, Purifoy later expanded to focus on found materials in general to create social change. His sculpture garden, made from beautiful junk, resembles an alien desert oasis made of objects that look slightly familiar yet ultimately unrecognizable. (63030 Blair Lane, Joshua Tree, California, 92252, United States)

8. Anza Borrego Desert Park Sculptures



Thanks to fossils found in the Anza Borrego area, we know creatures ranging from Ground Sloths to Sabertooth Cats once roamed the now desert in its greener days. Artist Ricardo Breceda combines history and myth with his series of animal sculptures depicting the habitat's current denizens, extinct species and imaginary friends with equal beauty. It's hard to tell which of the 130 looming rusty sculptures are real and imagined, but that's just the point. (200 Palm Canyon Dr, Borrego Springs, CA 92004)

9. The American Museum of Ceramic Art



If you have a soft spot for all things clay, The American Museum of Ceramic Art is one of the few places in the country you can truly nerd out. Since it opened in 2004, AMOCA has exhibited ceramic artworks from the Arts and Crafts Movement, the '60s Clay Revolution and the current Studio Pottery Era. Head there now and you'll see an exhibition of high school ceramicists alongside heavyweights like Jamie Bardsley. (399 North Garey Ave. Pomona, CA 91767)

10. World Famous Crochet Museum



Located in Joshua Tree, the World Famous Crochet Museum is exactly what it sounds like, boasting crocheted treasures including oreos, Humpty Dumpty and kangaroos, among other things. The space is curated by Bunny, a crocheted alligator who doesn't know how to crochet herself, she's just a fan. (61855 Hwy 62, Joshua Tree, CA 92252)

11. East Jesus



East Jesus, the brainchild of the late Charles Russell, dubs itself an "excarnation of mutation, of our dead gods, of our earliest dreams of escaping the sea... a reverse-engineered Garden of Eden." The experimental site, made entirely of salvaged and recycled materials, surrounds a revamped shipping container in the desert, transforming it into a refuge for artists, survivalists, scientists and wanderers of all kinds. (23 Sidewinder Rd, Niland, California 92257)

Photo Series Documents America's Most Ridiculous Laws, And It's Perfect

April 30, 2014, 6:22 am

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If you live in Kentucky, you should fight the urge to paint your front yard red. And all those Utah residents out there, please refrain from walking down the street carrying a violin inside a paper bag. We know it's tempting, people, but according to artist Olivia Locher, violating these extremely arbitrary and absurd rules could result in punishment by law. Welcome to the world of America's most ridiculous legislation.

Locher's been perusing outdated archives and mythologized records, hunting down our great country's random history of outlawing unkempt landscaping and zany driving practices. From equally real and random statutes that graced state law books years ago to hilarious concerns that made it this close to becoming official legislation, the artist transforms the quirks of legal history into hilarious snapshots worth ogling.

"Some of the laws in the series do not still remain in the books but at one time were," Locher explained to HuffPost, "some others did not go into effect but at one time came very close."

Check out the 10 newest photos in Locher's series, "I Fought the Law," below. For more on the artist's homage to odd mandates, check our her past works here.

'Emoji Nation' Is One Hilarious Attempt At Teaching Art In The 21st Century

April 30, 2014, 6:31 am

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While classic art is the foundation on which our society has flourished, many of us today struggle to really "get" art beyond its aesthetic beauty. Thankfully, Ukrainian artist Nastya Ptichek has found a clever way to help people connect with our artistic past by using her own contemporary spin.

"Emoji-Nation" is a five-part series in which classic works of art get a 21st century makeover. For example, one segment of the project gave Edward Hopper paintings an update with emoji and social media icons, translating the enigmatic subjects' thoughts for a modern viewer.

But the highlight of the latest installment? Images that take some of most well-known art -- like "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" and "Judith with the Head of Holofernes" -- and turn them into stunning posters for modern films. By pairing the paintings with movies we all know and love, the meaning behind the art becomes a little bit clearer, if not more entertaining.

Plus, the seamless execution is a touching reminder of the timelessness of the themes and imagery, ones that make as much sense in 19th century Japan as they do to us now.










Ptichek's theme for the entire "Emoji-Nation" project was, she told Wired, the "correlation between computer technologies and classic art." So in addition to the movie posters, Ptichek transformed more classic art using two tech icons of our time: Microsoft Windows...






... and Google. Note the ubiquitous "Did you mean..." in the corner of the second painting.





Oh, and those Edward Hoppers translated with emoji? Here's one of those, for good measure.



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Marc Webb Knows He Won't Get Too Many Chances To Direct A Movie Like 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2'

April 30, 2014, 6:35 am

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Were "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" a song, it would appear on Top-40 radio alongside the likes of Katy Perry, Beyonce and Mumford & Sons. Marc Webb's blockbuster sequel has a propulsive energy that recalls the best pop hits: It's a superhero movie that embraces its mainstream sensibility with both hands, while also making room for some moments of heavy drama that not even Disney's Marvel films have tried just yet. In short, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is a huge leap forward from Webb's first foray into the franchise world, 2012's "The Amazing Spider-Man," a feature that still earned more than $700 million worldwide and scored mostly positive reviews from critics.

Part two of Webb's Spider-Man saga picks up where things left off last time, with Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) trying to reconcile his love for Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) with the promise he made Gwen's dying father about staying out of her life. Then there's the whole Spider-Man thing, which Parker has accepted with panache as he enters the adult world following high school graduation.

HuffPost Entertainment spoke to Webb about why his philosophy changed between "Amazing Spider-Man" and its sequel, whether he keeps tabs on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and what he misses about making films like "(500) Days of Summer."



You had previously talked about wanting to embrace "spectacle" for this film as opposed to what you did on "The Amazing Spider-Man." At what point did you decide that?
During the first movie I wanted everything to be more grounded. That was my mantra, because that's certainly where Peter Parker starts off: He's a kid, and you want to invest in that realism of the world. But then we were doing a scene where a giant lizard crashes through a high-school wall and chases a man in a unitard, and it didn't feel like grounded was the appropriate cinematic philosophy to embrace. When I was thinking about this movie, I literally tried -- I think we all did -- to get back in touch with the thing about Spider-Man that we loved as kids. Spectacle is a shorthand for reading the comic books and, in between panels, laying back in your bed and dreaming about what it was like to be Spider-Man. The fantasies you indulged in and the feeling of flying through the air that you imagined to be so cool. I wanted to express that. I also wanted to embrace being able to exist and participate in this world, because I don't know how many chances I'm going to get to do this kind of thing. I was just like, "Fuck it, let's make this big!"

Right.
But it's not a cynical thing; it's an uncynical embracing of what was so exciting about being a kid and reading those comic books. Of course, none of that means anything if you don't have characters you care about. This has a beating heart and a simple story and a quietness in the middle of it.

Does it help, too, when you have a group of actors like this to keep the story's emotions within reach?
It's interesting, because they do make anything work. Like Sally Field [as Aunt May] and Jamie Foxx [as the villain Electro].

Sally Field has that one great scene with Andrew, which is really a knockout.
It's so great. Andrew always goes deep and Sally always goes deep. They dig and dig and dig. They like to be pushed in that way. That was a moment where I was surprised we get to do that in the movie. I was waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder and be like, "What are you doing? This is a 'Spider-Man' movie!" But there is a deep, emotional core at the center of their relationship. They have amazing chemistry. You hear about Andrew and Emma's chemistry, but Andrew and Sally's chemistry is really good, too. That's a fun part about participating in this universe. It also says something about Spider-Man that people like Paul Giamatti, Jamie, Sally, Andrew, Emma all want to put on masks and play with these archetypes.

This movie balances humor, drama, action and world-building in a way that reminded me of "Iron Man 3." Do you ever feel like it's a situation where you have to keep up with what the Disney Marvel movies are doing?
It's interesting. I suppose it's in there somewhere, knocking around. There's certainly an awareness and I like those movies; I think Robert Downey Jr. is a fucking genius. There is a spectacle to those movies that's really impressive. I think I appreciate them now more having tried to participate in that universe, but I don't consciously think about how to compete with them. I feel a kinship with them, rather than a competitive quality, just because making these movies is so specific and so weird and so difficult. I don't think it's an original thing to try and make your movies bigger with each one. I do believe, wholeheartedly, that the only thing that really makes it worth doing is a deep emotional texture and really pushing and finding the realness and authenticity in those relationships. Testing the limits of what you can do in the genre from an emotional standpoint. That to me is really interesting.

Spider-Man faces a lot of adversaries in this film and it works, but on paper it felt like something that could be a bit overwhelming. How conscious were you of making sure that wasn't the case?
Very conscious. The whole movie was reverse engineered from the ending. So all these characters, if you were just to have the Goblin in the movie, people would, I think, know what the ending was going to be. So we didn't want to lead with that. Electro is such a powerful, cinematic villain. The storyline of the character is actually a direct reflection of Peter Parker's story. He is somebody who has been misunderstood and maligned by the world. The first time they meet, Electro says he's a "nobody." That strikes Spider-Man because he knows what that is. He recognizes that thing in himself in this other guy. They're the same. That, I think, is an interesting commentary for Spider-Man. When you're absorbing a story, you want to cut the themes from different angles. Having Electro allowed us to do that. There was a real organic rationale for us to put it together. I think the team up between Electro and Green Goblin, and how they require each other, was really an effort to integrate the storylines.

There's an entire montage in this film of Spider-Man just saving people. How important was it for you to show that side of his character?
It's always important, specifically for Spider-Man. He's not just muscle. That's not really his superpower. He's a rescuer. When he shoots those webs, they're nets. They're to catch people. They're to save people. They represent salvation. They're not hammers, they're not fists. That was something we really wanted to embrace: the rescuing ethos of Spider-Man. It was also the most important to challenge in him: Spider-Man can't save everybody. Even a superhero can't stop time. That was the undercurrent, which was designed to test the thing that he was best at.

One of the things I didn't love about "The Amazing Spider-Man" was that a lot of scenes happened at night, which when coupled with the 3D, made the entire movie too dark. This film, though, everything pops off the screen. Do you feel like you got better at making this kind of movie?
Yeah, because I was more aware of the impact and the eventualities of certain decisions. It was like, "Oh, this will look cool at night." But the comic books very rarely take place at night. That vibrant daytime visual component of the film, I didn't realize how important that was. Especially to kids. It makes the 3D look a lot better too.

I know you were attached to "The Spectacular Now," which was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who also wrote "(500) Days of Summer." Do you look at that kind of film and miss the experience?
Of course, yeah. Listen, this sounds like lip service but it's true: I do feel like I get to make that kind of movie inside of "Spider-Man." That love connection between Peter and Gwen is a really good version of that. But I remember when "The Spectacular Now" came out, and how much I loved it and how much I remembered it. That tenderness there. There was a wee bit of envy. I was like, "That was cool. That was a different life." I also thought James Ponsoldt did things I wouldn't have imagined doing. He did that long take when they first kiss. I thought that was so good and that he was so smart. It was such a great decision to make. So, for me, it's not really small or big, it's just there are stories that intrigue me. And yeah, I'd like to do more of that in the future.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

This Child Prodigy's Incredible Artwork Will Make You Want To Doodle In Your Boring Meeting

April 30, 2014, 6:36 am

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At an age when most children are still making stick figure doodles, one incredible kid is producing artwork that will astound you.

Dušan Krtolica, an 11-year-old child prodigy from Serbia, has been making art since he was 2 years old, according to OddityCentral. By the time he was 8 he had already had two national solo exhibitions, and he has since had two more to display his stunning and intricate drawings.

His fourth and most recent exhibition was earlier this month, Viola.bz, an art blog, reported.

Dušan's beautiful, incredibly detailed artwork, often done in pencil or pen, mostly depicts scenes with animals. He loves animals and has a wealth of knowledge about them, as well as about geological time periods and the prehistoric beasts who lived within them.

The fifth-grader from Belgrade learned to paint before he could walk, according to Viola.bz, and he also has plans to someday make his own encyclopedia of animals.

"I would have studied animals and published a book about them, but I’m going to draw all of them," Dušan told OddityCentral. He wants to be a zoologist someday.

Check out some of his astounding artwork below, and try not to feel too inadequate.






For updates Dušan's work, check out his Facebook page and blog.

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Katy Perry Asks Lil B To Prom After He Releases 'Katy Perry' Music Video

April 30, 2014, 7:40 am

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Lil B has a thing for naming songs after celebrities. The New Yorker called him the "strangest rapper alive" in 2012 after he debuted "I'm Miley Cyrus" and "Mel Gibson." Now, Lil B has released "Katy Perry," and after the real-life Perry saw it, she asked Lil B to prom. The chorus of the song goes, "Call me Katy Perry," over and over again, so we guess she had to take the bait.

When she first saw the song, Perry tweeted, "Before I lay my jet-lagged head down to sleep let me leave u w/a lovely #rare lullaby I came across today http://bit.ly/1fOuMl3 #taskforce"

Then she got all high school on him:

Be my prom date @LILBTHEBASEDGOD

— Katy Perry (@katyperry) April 30, 2014

@katyperry i feel like its highschool again katy and i missed my prom so it wud mean alot, thank you love u have a good day - Lil B

— Lil B From The Pack (@LILBTHEBASEDGOD) April 30, 2014

Welcome to the #taskforce #based @katyperry - Lil B

— Lil B From The Pack (@LILBTHEBASEDGOD) April 30, 2014

Even though Perry is nowhere to be seen in video, its YouTube description reads, "KATY BOO I LOVE YOU!!!!!! KEEP DOING YO THANG GIRL i got your back, ALSO FOR ANY OTHER FAKERS.....STOP LEECHING OFF LIL B AND USING HIS NAME FOR FILTH, YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN - Lil B" Watch it below.

The-Dream's 'Black' Addresses Racism, Discrimination, Donald Sterling

April 30, 2014, 7:42 am

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The-Dream, Terius Nash, not-so-randomly released a new track and video on Tuesday evening, April 29, titled "Black." Nash addresses racism and classism, showing footage from the civil rights movement, singing "I'm feeling real black right now" in the hook. In the second verse, he says, "Never be impressed with a man with no message," over images of Vladimir Putin, Joseph Kony and banned-for-life, soon-to-be-former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. While the song primarily targets racial injustice, Nash juxtaposes the images with clips of Harvey Milk, Pussy Riot and Occupy Wall Street. The video concludes with a written message:

Black isn't just a color. Black isn't just a race anymore. It's a feeling and a place from which one feels isolated by the world of the governing elite. 'Classism is the new racism.' This is what black feels like.

Listen to the powerful "Black":

Wes Anderson Mixtape Remixes Director's Signature Style In Dazzling Montage

April 30, 2014, 7:44 am

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Moviegoers adore Wes Anderson for his distinctive directing style, which includes bright colors, Bill Murray and a lot of symmetry. Video remixers Electric Method compiled a visual remix of Anderson's movies, splicing together six of his films by their similar themes and styles. Election Method calls it the "cross section of a doll’s house" -- fitting, given Anderson's movies usually pepper his fantastical stylings with themes of love, friendship and family. Watch the five-minute clip below and revel in Anderson's cinematic mastery.

The Wes Anderson Mixtape from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.

Even Snoopy Is Celebrating The 'Mean Girls' Anniversary

April 30, 2014, 8:15 am

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As it turns out, even Snoopy is excited about the 10th anniversary of "Mean Girls."

Snoopy: making fetch happen since 1950.

#MeanGirls10thAnniversary #sofetch pic.twitter.com/DITRVaqJgq

— PEANUTS (@Snoopy) April 30, 2014

You Won't Want To Take Your Business Anywhere Else After You Read These Shops' Hilarious Chalkboard Signs

May 1, 2014, 9:06 am

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Admit it: Wit makes all the difference. When it comes to advertising a business, the more clever you are, chances are the more shamelessly customers will open their wallets -- and this man knows just how to spin silly sayings into marketing gold.

Joseph D'Allegro, a copywriter and advertising guru, is New Jersey's own master of hilarious sidewalk promotions.





D'Allegro, who regularly produces comedy shows in addition to copywriting, decided to take his sense of humor to the streets in 2008 after his playful "Yes, we did!" chalk sign rallied passersby during President Obama's victory celebrations. He began creating weekly chalkboard wisecracks for a Jersey gym, and the rest is history.





"From then until the gym closed in December of 2012, the best part of my week would be people reacting to the signs," he told The Huffington Post. Following the gym's closure a few months after Hurricane Sandy, D'Allegro took his chalkboard and his witty one-liners to Balance, a friend's hair salon, which he still occasionally graces with his unique signage. You might not always know whether his compliments are complimentary, but he will leave you wanting more of his good-natured snark -- and probably a new hair style.









Just weeks ago, another business recruited D'Allegro for his talent. Local pizza joint Two Boots took notice of his sassy signs, and now D'Allegro's delicious humor is displayed outside of their Jersey City outpost. We're pretty sure the only way to make slices of pizza sell faster is to pair them with "Game of Thrones" references and some poo-pooing of taxes.







So take a lesson from D'Allegro: Make 'em laugh -- it might just increase your clientele.

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Homer Simpson Is 'El Chapo' In Prophetic Drug War Art Series

May 1, 2014, 9:32 am

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It’s Homer, like you’ve never seen him before.

Italian artist aleXandro Palombo transforms the clueless Simpson’s character into some of history’s most ruthless drug lords. In his “Stop The Drug War” art series, he reflects on the thousands of innocent victims killed in the violent struggle against the illicit drug trade, which is now being legalized by the governments that once fought against it.

Palombo’s images aim to draw attention to both the drug war that has caused more than 60,000 deaths in Mexico alone and the legalization of drugs, which has has become a popular topic after Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize the production and sale of marijuana and two American states also decriminalized the drug.

The Italy-based artist chose Colombia’s infamous Pablo Escobar and Mexico’s “El Chapo” as the protagonists of the ongoing drug war that has plagued the world, and especially the Americas, for several decades. The two loathed and adored figures of recent history are portrayed as both criminals and prophets in the art series.

"Pablo Escobar was a ruthless drug dealer responsible for the massacres of his fellow civilians and officers, but he was also a drug trafficker that was in favor of drug legalization, and his idea was prophetic,” Palombo said in a press release. “If, 30 years ago, the institutions of various countries would have taken the path of the drug legalization, would have there been all that blood shed and a drug dealer as powerful as ‘El Chapo’ today?”

In one of the illustrations Escobar is kneeling in front of images of his victims -- the director of the newspaper El Espectador, Senator Luis Carlos Galán, the passengers on an Avianca flight and more -- and later he dons Jesus’ thorn crown and pose to depict how the drug lord had predicted drug legalization.

"They accuse me of drug trafficking. This is an activity that at this moment in history... has been declared illegal... but over the long haul and in the future will tend toward legalization," Escobar said in an interview released on the 20th anniversary of his death.

“El Chapo” and President Barack Obama also make appearances in the art series to show how the illicit drug trade that once filled the wallets of drug traffickers is now generating profits in the U.S., after marijuana was legalized in Washington and Colorado.

Check out the full series below:



Palombo past art series also aim to make political or social statements by portraying Disney Princesses with disabilities to redefine “standards of beauty” and illustrating beloved female cartoons who have been domestically abused by their partners.

Mark Hamill 'Knocked Out' By 'Star Wars: Episode VII' Cast

May 1, 2014, 9:35 am

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Some people aren't happy with the makeup of the "Star Wars: Episode VII" cast, but not Mark Hamill. The original trilogy stalwart tweeted his excitement about the group of actors assembled by director J.J. Abrams following the film's first table read on Tuesday.

UK table read- I was knocked out by the diverse & extraordinarily talented new cast members. WOW they're good! The saga is in superb hands.

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) May 1, 2014

"Star Wars: Episode VII" will star John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac in lead roles, with Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow and Adam Driver lending support. Abrams reportedly has one other role to cast, a part he had previously discussed with Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o.

The Black Keys Release 'Fever' Music Video And 'Bullet In The Brain'

May 1, 2014, 10:06 am

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It's a big day for The Black Keys' "Turn Blue." The band released "Fever," the first single off the new album, in March, and now the track's music video is out. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney play super sweaty preachers, which, as Vulture points out, makes it a semi-sequel to the "10 A.M. Automatic" video. The video features a bogus hotline that you can call and "donate." (You really just get to listen to a scratchy recording of a woman saying she doesn't want to hear a record.)



The Black Keys also performed a new track, "Bullet In The Brain," on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show on BBC, along with "Fever" and the title track. Listen to a radio rip via Radio 104.5:



"Turn Blue," the follow-up album to "El Camino," is out May 13.

Nick Carter & Jordan Knight Team Up For Nick & Knight Tour & Album

May 1, 2014, 10:42 am

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All your boy band dreams are coming true. Backstreet Boy Nick Carter and New Kid on the Block Jordan Knight have come together to form ... Nick & Knight.

The duo will release an album on Sept. 2 and will head out on a 39-city tour on Sept. 15, starting in Nashville, Tennessee. PerezHilton exclusively has the first track off the album, "Just The Two Of Us," but fans can get a free download of the song by pre-ordering the album on NickAndKnight.com.

Carter and Knight appeared on "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, April 30 to promote the announcement, and Carter said that they were almost done recording. "It's a bunch of our pop, rock, R&B and urban. It's all mixed together to create Nick & Knight." Watch a video of the announcement, complete with all the tour dates in the videos below.

Post by Jordan Knight.

19th Century 'Pocket Encyclopedia' For Women Is As Wonderfully Strange As It Sounds

May 1, 2014, 10:53 am

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"It's a wonderful combination of Martha Stewart, WebMD and Allure magazine... for the court of Charles X."

That's how Christine Von Der Linn, a senior specialist in Swann Galleries' Book Department, describes a small, extremely rare item up for sale this week at the New York auction house. The unassuming orange books -- no more than 4 inches in length -- are parts of a "pocket encyclopedia" for women dating back to the 19th century. Break out your bonnets and slippers, ladies, this is your guide to mastering bourgeois life in the 1820s.



Chock full of beauty tips, personal hygiene advice and home remedies, the remnant of vintage French society offers a pocket-size masterclass on dominating stain removal, perfumery, split-ends, and pest control. All in one four-volume series by the prolific publisher of almanacs, advice books, and popular literature -- Blocquel.

"The first volume gives advice on personal hygiene, skin and hair care, beauty, and wardrobe," the lot description states, "the second deals with stain removal, household cleaning, and pest control; and the third and fourth volumes contain home remedies and first aid instructions for a wide variety of complaints."

"It was often carried by servants of the court households," Von Der Linn explained. "It was intended for woman of the home, but was used by servants as a training book -- a cheat sheet or reference book -- for anything from how to color hair to how to use bronzers. That’s part of the appeal of the small size. If any incident came along they would have a way to deal with it. Because they could carry the books with them."



Blocquel published the advice series in 1827, at a time when guide books were just starting to appear, Von Der Linn added. The concept of the restaurant had just been introduced, and thus emerged how-to's on eating out and gastronomy etiquette, as well as books on animal husbandry, household care, and anything else you could think of. This particular guidebook, "Le Nécessaire des Dames, Véritable Trésor de la Toilette, de la Santé, et d'Économie Domestique," is particularly rare because they were printed on such fragile paper. As they were circulated from one woman to the next, they would deteriorate; not surprisingly, few have survived today.

Essentially, if you thought a preoccupation with never-ending streams of beauty advice -- think: 8 Ways To Make Your Hair Look Younger -- was a 21st century phenomenon, you'd be wrong. Behold, a few examples of the bizarre bits of information every young women just had to know in the early 19th century:

1. To fight wrinkles: mix onion juice, honey, and melted wax, spread on face and leave overnight.

2. Keep ants away by sprinkling tobacco in chests of drawers and wherever else you find them.

3. Fight bad breath by rinsing your mouth with alum and water.

4. For cramps, take 10-12 drops of a warm sage and cinnamon solution until the body sweats, and observe your diet very carefully.

5. For canker sores, gargle with dishwater and camphor oil, followed by a laxative tonic of rhubarb.

6. Lace and embroidery in ladies' clothing often causes embarrassing and unpleasantly sweaty hands. Remedy this by rubbing with a bit of rye seed.

7. It takes a very long time to properly comb hair with an ivory comb. Use a thicker comb every fortnight for three weeks otherwise you can twist, break, and destroy the brilliance of your mane.

"Le Nécessaire des Dames, Véritable Trésor de la Toilette, de la Santé, et d'Économie Domestique" will go up for sale May 1 as part of Swann's Early Printed, Medical & Scientific Books auction, estimated to fetch $800-$1,200. All photos courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries.