An Incomplete List Of All The Ways Denzel Kills People In 'The Equalizer'

September 7, 2014, 12:44 pm

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The following post contains nonspecific spoilers about "The Equalizer."

Denzel Washington killed a lot of people onscreen in 2004's "Man on Fire," and he kills everyone else in "The Equalizer."

The impressive part is that Washington doesn't end any lives until nearly 40 minutes into this new film, which Sony debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. After that the floodgates open. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, "The Equalizer" is a symphony of death; Washington's Robert McCall only stops his spree because the credits finally roll. (Don't worry: Plans are already in motion for the film's sequel.)

The trick of "The Equalizer" is that McCall only kills the true bad guys: Russian pimps and mobsters. That means crooked cops are merely beaten rather than executed, and all the death is done in service of the good, embodied here by Teri (Chloe Moretz), a young girl forced into prostitution by the nefarious Russian criminals. It's all pretty standard, dadcore stuff: Fuqua's visuals recall Washington's movies with Tony Scott ("Man on Fire," "Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" and "Déjà Vu" in particular), and the revenge plot could have been a blueprint for "Taken 3."

But all that is secondary to the main event: The various methods and tools (literally tools) Washington uses to dispatch his enemies onscreen. Ahead, an incomplete list of all the things Robert McCall kills people with in "The Equalizer." Warning: Again, these are nonspecific spoilers.

• Bullets


• His hands


• A book


• A shot glass


• A knife


• A corkscrew


• A power drill


• A nail gun


• Barbed wire


• A garden spear


• A microwave oven


• Electricity

Sony will release "The Equalizer" on Sept. 26.

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Coheed & Cambria Secretly Wrote ‘Stairway To Heaven 2' On 'In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3'

September 7, 2014, 12:59 pm

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Between the years of 2002 and 2003, underground rock received a number of albums that significantly molded the sounds of progressive, post-hardcore, experimental, emo, alternative rock and the many spaces that sit between. Amongst these albums were Saosin’s “Translating The Name,” Brand New’s “Deja Entendu,” The Mars Volta’s “De-Loused in the Comatorium,” Thursday’s “War All The Time,” Taking Back Sunday's “Tell All Your Friends" and Glassjaw’s “Worship and Tribute,” all marking the beginning steps of each act.

Coming in towards the end of 2003 was another album that sealed itself as legendary within the scene: Coheed & Cambria’s “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3.” While the similarities in sound between the album and their peer’s aforementioned are undeniable, it was a rather unlikely band that had the greatest influence on Coheed during the writing of this album.



"We didn’t rely on a machine to guide us, we relied on each other to have each other’s backs."

“When we were in the studio, a lot of the production things we wanted to do, one of the bands I was listening to a lot of and who I hadn’t been exposed to very much was Queen,” lead vocalist and guitarist Claudio Sanchez told HuffPost Entertainment. "If we are looking at those bands, what we were listening to in the van was probably 'Worship & Tribute,' The Get Up Kids' 'Something to Write Home About.' We were all sort of in that world, but when we were in the studio, polishing things off and getting into a more production sort of standpoint, it brought me to these elements that I hadn’t been as exposed to. Yeah, I knew classic rock to a degree, but Queen wasn’t one of them. I ended up listening to ‘A Night at the Opera' over and over, and I think that’s where I got my sense of harmony from, just building up harmonies and making the vocals sound a little wider.”

For many, listening straight through "Silent Earth" not only bring backs memories of the first time they heard its melodies, but also of the the raw, imperfect sound of the recording that marked its time.

“We weren’t playing to click tracks, everything was reliant on Josh’s tempo,” Sanchez said. "And if it grooved, we kept it. That’s the beauty of some of those first few records, there’s a lot of movement. We didn’t rely on a machine to guide us, we relied on each other to have each other’s backs. I think that’s what makes some of those things special, that it is so very organic.”

There’re plenty of reasons why the band’s fans are so excited for the reissue of “Silent Earth.” Lines like “Pull the trigger and the nightmare stops,” and “Good eye sniper, here I’ll shoot, you run,” are permanently branded in the minds of fans; the buildup, vocalizations and final chorus chants of “Man your battle station” at the end of the title track forever anthemic. Then to top it off, the band has embarked on a nation-wide tour during which they are performing the entirety of the album (dates listed below).

For Sanchez, there’s just a special “energy” that comes in returning to “Silent Earth."



"A lot of these songs have special places in my heart. ‘The Crowing’ would probably be the one."

"A lot of these songs have special places in my heart,” Sanchez said. "‘The Crowing’ would probably be the one. Why? I’m not exactly sure. I think it’s probably because of the arrangement and the approach I took when writing it. I remember when I wrote that I was living in my parent’s house, I had some table-top 8-track. I recorded that song acoustically, at the time that’s sort of what I did, a couple acoustic guitars, a bunch of vocals and then I would showcase it to the band and the band would create the song. But I just remember writing that one and being really excited about it. Like, ‘Oh, wow. This is a step in a new direction for me.’"

“I also like ‘Light & Glass.’ That one’s kind of funny because at a time in the studio we called that song ‘Stairway To Heaven 2.’ We would have the silliest names for our songs. Our producer Mike Birnbaum was listening to the lyrics and told us that we should do a video for this song that’s very much like Led Zeppelin’s ‘The Song Remains The Same,’ where each character has this strange background. You have Robert Plant just riding on a horse, trying to save the princess on this beach or whatever. He wanted to give me a feather quill, put me in a white wig and start writing the words and who knows. It was all kind of silly.”

The reissue of “Silent Earth” drops on October 21, and can be pre-ordered on the band’s site.

Coheed & Cambria NEVERENDER IKSSE:3 Tour Dates w/Thank You Scientist:

September 07 2014 - Fox Theater - Oakland, CA

September 09 2014 - Paramount Theater - Seattle, WA

September 10 2014 - Roseland Theater - Portland, OR

September 12 2014 - The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT

September 13 2014 - Fillmore Auditorium - Denver, CO

September 15 2014 - South Side Ballroom - Dallas, TX

September 16 2014 - Stubbs Waller Creek - Austin, TX

September 17 2014 - House of Blues - Houston, TX

September 19 2014 - House of Blues - Lake Buena Vista, FL (sold out)

September 20 2014 - House of Blues - North Myrtle Beach, SC

September 21 2014 - The Fillmore Charlotte - Charlotte, NC

September 23 2014 - The Fillmore - Silver Spring, MD (sold out)

September 24 2014 - Tower Theatre - Upper Darby, PA

September 25 2014 - Wellmont Theater - Montclair, NJ

September 27 2014 - Hammerstein Ballroom - New York, NY (sold out)

September 28 2014 - House of Blues - Boston, MA (sold out)

September 30 2014 - The Fillmore Detroit - Detroit, MI

October 01 2014 - Kool Haus - Toronto, ON

October 02 2014 - House of Blues - Cleveland, OH (sold out)

October 04 2014 - Skyway Theatre - Minneapolis, MN

October 05 2014 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL (sold out)

October 06 2014 - Mercury Ballroom - Louisville, KY (sold out)

October 07 2014 - Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA

The Guy From 'Million Dollar Listing' Is The Breakout Star Of Noah Baumbach's New Movie

September 7, 2014, 1:43 pm

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Here's the best movie to premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival: "While We're Young," Noah Baumbach's "Frances Ha" follow-up.

Equal turns hilarious and insightful, Baumbach's latest focuses on a couple in their 40s (Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts) who become friends with a couple in their 20s (Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried). The culture wars that play out over the film's 97 minutes will especially resonate with audience members in the older demographic. Everyone else can appreciate Stiller's frazzled turn as a fledgling documentary filmmaker, his best performance since the last movie he made with Baumbach, 2010's "Greenberg." Stiller's become the closest thing to a modern-day Jack Lemmon that we have; no one expresses crushing frustration better.

Not that Stiller is the only thing going on here: Driver, Watts, Seyfried and Charles Grodin are pretty remarkable, too. (That Adam Driver is going to have a long career.) Then there's Ryan Serhant and Adam Horovitz. You know them better as that guy from "Million Dollar Listing" and Ad-Rock from Beasties Boys.

Let's start with Horovitz, who plays such a perfect embodiment of average, upper-middle class dads that you might not connect the dots right away between his character and Ad-Rock. Which is likely the point. In a movie about adults refusing to accept that they've become adults, what better way to illustrate that overarching theme than by having Ad-Rock wear khakis and carry baby in a sling? Horovitz's character has got to fight for the right to wake up multiple times a night to feed his newborn.


Ryan Serhant at the premiere of "While We're Young."

But if Horovitz is a subtle marvel, Serhant is the movie equivalent of street construction on a quiet morning. He plays a hedge-fund manager named Dave (Hedge-Fund Dave as the credits note) who may help Stiller's Josh fund his six-and-a-half hour documentary about America's racist prison system, the Turkish economy and a bunch of other stuff? It's not really clear, because Josh lost the thread somewhere around 2008. "So it's like 'Black Shawshank Redemption,' but real," an oblivious Dave says as he listens to Josh's pitch. He's an unrepentant monster who watches "Mad Men" for tips on how to be a douche bag; he probably idolized Ellis in "Die Hard." Serhant is so good at being a bro, someone should probably cast him in the "Entourage" movie.

"While We're Young," which was produced by IAC Films and Scott Rudin and Barry Diller, does not have distribution, but it's only a matter of time. This has the chance to become the biggest hit of Baumbach's career by a wide margin.

This Is What Happens When Artists And Inmates Collaborate On Children's Storybooks

September 8, 2014, 6:42 am

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When someone enters the criminal justice system, they, in an instant, lose most of the liberties, possessions, identities and daily rituals that once comprised their daily lives. Those with families lose even more. Watching their children grow up, having the ability to know them, teach them and bond with them -- all are threatened the moment one enters through the prison doors.

For the past ten years, London-based arts charity Create has worked to raise arts engagement in disadvantaged communities, using the power of creativity to change lives. Their project "Inside Stories" sends professional artists into prisons to collaborate with the inmates on works of art. More specifically, artists and fathers serving prison sentences create colorful storybooks to give to their children, allowing them to connect with their families from the confines of incarceration.



The storybook illustrations chronicle the adventures of princesses, dragons, giant frogs and broom-riding witches, in the brightest of colors and textured materials. If your favorite childhood story was re-imagined by an outsider artist, it would probably look something like this.

"One of the challenges that prisoners face is the re-adjustment to life outside the prison when they are released," said Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Create, Nicky Goulder in a statement. "This can influence the likelihood of reoffending. Inside Stories helps to address this by encouraging fathers to bond with their sons and daughters over a creative work that they have had the discipline, concentration and commitment to produce. The offenders gain confidence in their abilities to create something positive and they can focus on being a parent."

The initiative is as practically beneficial as it is emotionally. Numerous studies report links between family ties, post-release employment and recidivism. Not to mention, the amateur artists who have participated thus far have an immense stock of undiscovered talent.

Take a look at the storybook pages below and watch the power of creativity in action. Visit Create's website to learn more.

'Self Portraits With Men' Captures A Poignantly Funny And Telling View Of Feminine Identity

September 8, 2014, 6:43 am

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Dita Pepe's photographs look like the fragments of a forgotten family album. Except in these portraits, the subjects seem to be plucked from dozens of different families, made up of eccentric dancers, fitness enthusiasts, newlyweds, farm broods and dominatrixes. One eerily familiar face is the only thing that connects the pictures, as a woman's casual smile peeks our from beneath a multitude of wigs and costumes.

That face belongs to Pepe. In her series, "Self Portraits with Men," she takes on the role of universal doppleganger, melding her physical appearance to fit seamlessly into the many images of a wife, girlfriend, sister, mother, companion and friend. While many individuals daydream about the various paths their lives can take, Pepe acts them out in front of a camera, letting her imagination transplant her to the middle of an urban home or the fringes of a sprawling landscape.



Not surprisingly, Pepe has earned her fair share of comparisons to the great Cindy Sherman, an artist who turned the practice of self-portraits into a psychological experiment. She slips from one interpretation of the feminine woman into another, demonstrating the ease with which one one person can shape and edit their own selves.

The project dates back to 1999, and has since produced around 100 images, many of which were collected together in a monograph titled "Dita Pepe: Self-Portraits." The project initially began as an exercise in camouflage, in which Pepe would dress up as women she met and found interesting. Eventually, she began incorporating men -- seemingly mimicking the endless futures that could lay in store for herself.

Those pictured beside her are a combination of models, friends, acquaintances and strangers.

“Taking self-portraits with men made me realize how different partners influence one another,” Pepe explained to Slate. "It was very important for me to explain the purpose of my work to make those involved [in the project] comfortable with me. We talked about the relativity of life events, how little it would take to be born in a different family, have different friends, partners … working together helped me to understand personal views and how to deal with different aspects of life, the importance of various values and how to grasp moments of happiness; this project influenced my perception of the world and myself."

Check out a preview of Pepe's project below and let us know your thoughts on the art experiment in the comments.

A Giant 3D Printer Builds Ten Houses In One Day

September 8, 2014, 6:45 am

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Read the original story on ArchDaily
by Rory Stott



Chinese company WinSun Decoration Design Engineering has constructed a set of ten single story, 3D-printed homes which it produced in under 24 hours. The homes, printed in prefabricated panels which fit together on site, were created using WinSun’s custom-built 3D printer which measures 10 meters by 6.6 meters, and took the company twelve years to develop.

Formed with a cement-based mixture containing construction waste and glass fiber, each of the houses cost just $5,000 to build.

Though the houses created so far are fairly simple, CEO of WinSun Ma Yihe is optimistic about the future of the technology, saying that he hopes to one day use their 3D printer to create skyscrapers. Speaking to the International Business Times, Ma said: “Industrial waste from demolished buildings is damaging our environment, but with 3D-printing, we are able to recycle construction waste and turn it into new building materials. This would create a much safer environment for construction workers and greatly reduce construction costs.”

Each of the houses is designed to accommodate plumbing, electrical wiring and insulation which are all added after construction.

Other companies have been experimenting with plans to 3D print entire buildings, most notably Dus Architects and Ultimaker in the Netherlands. Find out more about their plans here.

Story via Mashable and the International Business Times.

10 3D-Printed Houses Prove The Future Is Now originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 25 Jun 2014.

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The Last Summer 'Supermoon' Of 2014 Is Also A Harvest Moon

September 8, 2014, 8:03 am

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Skywatchers, you're in for a treat. Tonight's "supermoon" is a pretty special one.

When the moon turns full on Monday, Sept. 8 at 9:38 p.m. EDT, it not only will become the last supermoon of the summer, but also this year's Harvest Moon -- which is a full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox.

(Story continues below.)


Supermoons are full moons that coincide with "lunar perigee," when the moon's orbit brings it closest to Earth. This moon appears bigger and brighter than a typical full moon.

Though Monday's supermoon won’t be the largest of the summer's trilogy of supermoons (that distinction went to the full moon of Aug. 10), the coming lunar event is unique in its own way -- it coincides with the Harvest Moon.

For several nights around the time of the Harvest Moon, the moon rises around the same time that the sun sets, giving the moon a reddened, swollen, pumpkin-like appearance. According to NASA, the name comes from the days before the invention of the lightbulb, when moonlight helped farmers reap their crops at this time of year.

On average, the moon usually rises about 50 minutes later than it did the day before, but in the days around the autumnal equinox, that difference decreases to about 30 minutes each night.



See the super Harvest Moon for yourself on Monday. Watch it rise just after sunset, when it will appear at its largest.

If you can't get outside to see it with your own eyes, the SLOOH Space Camera will be hosting a live broadcast of the celestial event (see the livestream video above).

Head over to the U.S. Naval Observatory's website to check local times for the supermoon in your area.

What Happened When A Biracial Woman Was Photoshopped In 18 Different Countries

September 8, 2014, 8:47 am

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What makes someone "beautiful"? It's a difficult question to answer, as we learned earlier this year from journalist Esther Honig's Photoshop experiment, in which she sent a picture of herself to photo editors in 25 countries around the world and asked them to "Make me beautiful." The variety of results she received -- some lightening her already pale skin, some darkening it, some adding makeup, some adjusting the skeletal structure of her face -- challenged the idea that there is an ultimate kind of beauty, a "perfect" woman.

But when journalist Priscilla Yuki Wilson replicated Honig's experiment, she found that her biracial identity caused things to play out differently.

(Story continues below.)

The photo Wilson sent out to Photoshoppers around the world.

"In contrast to Honig’s results, where her face became a canvas to express more than a dozen contrasting beauty standards, I found that my face actually challenged the application of photoshop in this instance," Wilson wrote in a post on her personal blog. "As a biracial women there is no standard of beauty or mold that can easily fit my face."

Half Japanese and half black, Wilson has fielded the question "What are you?" far too often, compounding her struggle with society's unattainable standards of beauty.

"I am living in a culture that’s still adjusting to my kind of face," she explains. "I was taught that my natural self did not comply with conventional standards set forth by society, saying fairer skin is better, straighter hair is more attractive, and that skinny tastes good."

How photo editors in 18 countries and the European Union responded to Wilson's request is representative of the variety of expectations that cultures around the world have for women, and how universally difficult it can be to fit in.

Check out Wilson's collection of paradigm-challenging edits:



h/t APlus

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post said incorrectly that Wilson's image was Photoshopped by editors in 21 different countries and the European Union. In fact, the photo was edited in 18 countries and the EU.

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Suitcase Yields a Monet

September 8, 2014, 8:58 am

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A Monet landscape is the latest lost treasure to surface in Cornelius Gurlitt’s trove of European art. The painting was recently found in a suitcase that belonged to Mr. Gurlitt, The Associated Press reported.

Sadly, Pumpkin Spice Condoms Aren't A Thing After All

September 8, 2014, 11:51 am

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Forget sweater weather and crisp autumn leaves; these days, the true arrival of fall seems marked by the arrival of Starbucks' infamous pumpkin spice latte -- at least on the social media sphere.

This year, a rumor surfaced that the sticky sweet craze had spawned an entirely different pumpkin spice-flavored item: condoms, made by Durex.

Because safe sex is important, no matter what season it is. #pumpkinspice pic.twitter.com/kzHSBgw87a

— IG:Bennett Kulcsar (@BennettKulcsar) September 8, 2014

The company did not immediately confirm or deny the existence of the product, leaving the Internet in a tizzy.

The plot thickened this morning, when Durex initially tweeted a denial but then deleted it, leading to further confusion. Finally, though, Durex put the rumors to rest: an unnamed company spokesperson told BuzzFeed that Durex would not be coming out with a pumpkin spice condom.

“Durex has heard that people are saying we launched a ‘Pumpkin Spice’ condom," the spokesperson said. "We can’t claim this one, but we do love it when people spice it up in the bedroom."

Even though pumpkin spice condoms proved to be a myth, the Internet still had a field day. Never forget.

the pumpkin spice condom is available in tall, grande, and venti
*high fives self*
*cries*
http://t.co/wFbavPiTjh

— Tabir Akhter (@tabooradley) September 8, 2014

I'm strangely disappointed that these pumpkin spice condoms aren't actually a thing. Because come on, pumpkin spice!

— Corinne. (@corinneeee_xoxo) September 8, 2014

I guess we should all be thankful when our coworkers break out the pumpkin spice candles and not the pumpkin spice condoms

— ohkatieb (@ohkatieb) September 8, 2014

Durex now makes pumpkin spice condoms which means that no white girl is ever going to get pregnant again.

— kailin (@ayokailin) September 7, 2014

Don't need those pumpkin spice flavored condoms. I use natural birth control like wearing Crocs and cargo shorts.

— Keith-182 (@rarekeith) September 8, 2014

Artist Wolfgang Laib Explores The Beautiful Power Of Pollen

September 8, 2014, 11:56 am

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When one thinks of German artist Wolfgang Laib, it's hard not to conjure an image of a yellow sea of pollen.

The conceptual icon, known for his spiritual takes on natural media as art, has incorporated the vivid golden aesthetic of pollen into his expansive, site-specific installations since the 1970s. Like a blanket of pure pigment unwrapped onto a museum floor, his works prove pollen itself -- not the process of collecting microgametophytes, nor the act of honoring them -- is the artwork.



Laib is one of several artists featured on the "ART 21" series on PBS, a show dedicated to profiling famous art and artists of the 21st century. He's been labeled the "honeybee of the international art world" by The New York Times, and just over a year ago, he took over the Museum of Modern Art's space with his 21-foot long hazelnut pollen sanctuary.

In essence, he's no small figure. And everything he's achieved in the last few decades has been largely built off his dedication to the natural world, be it milk, marble, rice, beeswax or his beloved yellow powder.

"I mean, you could see a pollen piece and you could have a visual experience," Laib explained in a past interview with Art in America. "I find that art is always much more important than politics. There are wars, and the kings do this or that, but I think art and culture has much more impact on the changing of humanity."


The hazelnut pollen that was used in MoMA’s 2013 installation was collected by Laib from the natural environment around his home and studio, in a small village in southern Germany, since the mid 1990s.

Laib is continuing his obsession with pollen in the seventh season of ART 21. "I don't have to explain to someone what the sun is. And I don't want to explain to someone what pollen is," Laib muses in the series clip above, as he sifts real pollen onto a floor. "That is the secret and the beauty and the power and the potential of all this."

"ART21" is set to debut on October 24 on PBS. We'll be previewing clips from the series throughout August and September, giving a sneak peek into the experiences of artists like Trevor Paglen, Graciela Iturbide, Wolfgang Laib and Joan Jonas. Stay tuned.

In 'Bare Reality,' 100 Women Share How They Feel About Their Breasts

September 8, 2014, 12:06 pm

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How do you feel about your breasts?

One hundred women answer that question in an upcoming book, Bare Reality.

(Some images below may be considered NSFW)



Photographer Laura Dodsworth started the project after becoming frustrated with how breasts were shown in the media, feeling that most portrayals created an "unobtainable ideal."

"I felt compelled to embark on a personal exploration of what it means to be a woman," Dodsworth told The Huffington Post in an email. "To understand women’s experiences through their body. I wanted to re-humanize women through honest photography and interviews, present our breasts as they really are and burst the ‘fantasy bubble’ of the youthful, idealized and sexualized breasts presented by the media."


© Copyright Laura Dodsworth 2012-2014. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

The book features photographs of women aged 19 to 101, of all breast sizes and sexualities. Some women talk about how their breasts give them confidence, while others reveal struggles with self-esteem related to their cup size.

All of the stories remind us that women should be proud of their bodies despite the size, appearance or presence of their breasts.

In an anecdote from the project posted on The New Statesman today, one woman shares her experience with breast cancer and a subsequent mastectomy.


© Copyright Laura Dodsworth 2012-2014. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

The woman, age 54, also discusses her decision to cover the scar with a floral tattoo rather than undergoing reconstructive surgery.

I don’t think I could have psychologically come to terms with my “battle scar” as easily without the tattoo. It would have taken a lot longer to look in the mirror and feel okay about the scar where the boob was. It makes a statement and it’s pretty to look at. I’m proud of it. I want people to realise you don’t have to hide away, just because you’ve had breast cancer.

For each book sold, a donation will be made to Breast Cancer UK.

Dodsworth, who is herself the 100th person profiled in the book, hopes that the project will empower women and assure them that, no matter how complicated their relationships with their breasts, they are not alone.

"Bare Reality has changed me, and changed how I think and feel about women." she told HuffPost. "It has transformed my relationship with my breasts. Quite simply, I like myself more as a woman, and I like my breasts more."

Learn more about Bare Reality here.

BANKS Finds True Power In The Imperfect 'Goddess' And Dirty Martinis

September 8, 2014, 12:23 pm

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“I started liking dirty martinis last night," Jillian Banks exclaimed as she sat down in the lobby of the Dream Downtown Hotel in New York City. "Which was a goal of mine for adulthood. I just think it looks so cool when a woman has a dirty martini. She looks so powerful."

An achievement silly on the surface, it seems to represent a much greater whole for Banks, the Los Angeles singer-songwriter whose stage moniker is simply BANKS. A decade of writing behind her, it's only now that she has decided the time is right for her debut album. Truly enjoying a cocktail may seem nothing more than a drop in a bucket, but when registered in the continuum of years of passionate self-development, the value becomes clear.

The 14-track "Goddess" is a melange of emotions without sacrificing the palatable stability one looks for in an album; none of the songs sound out of place. An unabashed and unfiltered track record, BANKS captures the capricious nature of her growth. Speaking with HuffPost Entertainment, she discussed embracing the volatile humanness, the variety of production and songwriting, and structuring her live performance.



What is your idea of “goddess” and why did you choose that as the title of your album?
It’s just a theme since I started writing. Throughout all my music, it’s to be honest and to accept feelings strong at times, weak at times, fragile at times, empowered, sexy, scared, angry, aggressive at times. All of these things make me feel powerful and liberated to be able to write about, and that makes me more of a goddess, accepting and embracing those things. I just want to highlight being human because every woman is a goddess and sometimes you can feel ashamed of being a human, and you just shouldn’t be.

There’s that traditional concept of the word “goddess” that we think of as perfect, but you seem to be finding perfection in the imperfection in your songs. There’s some where you come out really strong and others where you are heartbroken.
It’s funny because I’ve been reading this -- I travel so much now and I like to read Greek mythology and stories just to get my mind off my real life. It feels so far away and I’m reading a lot about the Greek gods and goddesses, and everything that I think makes you feel weighed down, like guilt, jealousy and greed, are so much in all of the gods and goddesses. Even our traditional gods and goddesses have the type of emotions that, in my opinion, make you the least in tune with yourself. They have the most human characteristics. So what is a goddess? If you are you, and you exude you, and you are comfortable with you, then you’re a goddess.

Hell yeah. A lot of the songs on the album have this wicked druggy, ethereal, airy sound. What inspired this sound for you?
It’s nothing that I can put my finger on. It’s just what I moved towards when I was creating something. Some of my songs are really stripped back, so I think it really just matters what the theme of the song is. It’s just the atmosphere that I create. When I’m writing, it’s just like the juices, I just really want the atmosphere to magnify your senses. And it’s just what I like.

Along with that, these songs have these slow-churning synths and samples, but if you look at a song like “Brain,” it’s intense. How do you balance those two seemingly contrasting energies?
It’s just me. Every human is so layered. And “Brain,” that theme is about -- I’m just such a sensitive person and I can pick up people’s energies. Throughout my life when I’m around these people who put up these shields around them, and act a certain way, and think, think, think, think, think before they say something in order to have it come off in a certain way, and want to fit in so they’re mean. Stuff like that has always driven me absolutely crazy and sometimes when you’re in a room with people like that it makes you revert back and feel a little uncomfortable. But then when I take a step back from that, it makes me so angry. The first half of that song is about being a little more soft about it and just feeling a little helpless about it, and then the second is just "Fuck that!”

On the other hand, you have songs like “You Should Know Where I’m Coming From,” “Under the Table” and “Someone New,” which are stripped-down, straightforward ballads. You grew up playing piano, so what is like writing these types of songs versus ones that are more layered?
Those songs, I just wanted them to be bare because I was feeling so bare when I wrote them. Like with “Someone New” I was at my rawest, and I didn’t want to cover it up. And same with “You Should Know” and “Under the Table.” I wanted it to be the lyrics and the chord progressions, and the intricacies of the guitar of “Someone New” are so delicate, sometimes that’s all you need. But with a song like “Goddess” and “Stick” and even “Fuck Em Only We Know,” I wanted this airy, gentle production, but to warm your body inside and out.



I think we've seen a trend in the past few years, especially 2013 and 2014, where a lot of female artists are coming in and escaping the narrow pop realm that has often been handed to them and just kicking ass. Not to say that there haven’t been women doing this before, but it seems more visible now. You have artists like Beyoncé, who has been running the game for some time, and then a lot of new artists coming in and taking a big seat, like yourself, almost immediately: Lorde, Tove Lo, Say Lou Lou, NONONO, Yuna, Chvrches and Iggy Azalea. Do you think there has been this upswing in female musical prominence? And if so, where do you see yourself in that?
I don’t really know how to answer those questions because I don’t really think of that. I just make music. I think every person is so unique, I think every woman is so unique, every man is so unique, every artist is so unique. I can’t really place myself anywhere, but I think it’s awesome. When people are themselves and I like what makes them special, that’s when art starts working, I think. That’s it. Machines don’t work, robots don’t work. I’m bored by robots.

What do you mean by “bored by robots”?
I don’t care if I can see a huge machine behind somebody, and you’re so polished to a point where we can’t even feel you, you’re like a robot. Who wants to see that? Who wants to fall in love with that? Who wants to marry that? Who wants to be brokenhearted by that? Even growing up I was drawn to people like Fiona Apple and Lauryn Hill. People like that, that I could just taste.

When it comes to putting this into a live show, you have all these different emotions and vibes to the record. How do you structure that? How do you even emotionally prepare yourself for that?
It’s funny, this is all still very new to me, performing. When I first started performing, I would get on stage and I would feel this incredible high. It’s like you work out all these endorphins and then all of a sudden, like an hour later, you get really low. I didn’t understand it and I thought I was going through some weird mental shit. I talked to a bunch of different artists like Ellie Goulding and all these different people, and it’s just such a normal thing because you give so much on stage emotionally and then after you feel empty.

I like to structure my shows where I take people on … like you said, my songs can feel heavy at times, so I wouldn’t put songs like heavy, bright, heavy, bright, heavy, bright. It’s nice to go in little waves and take people through a story. I wouldn’t ever put “Someone New,” then “Stick,” and then “Under the Table” and then “Goddess.” I would want to throw up. It’s too exhausting to even think of singing those one after another. I want to make it feel a bit more caramel.

You’ve put around 10 years into writing before arriving at your debut. What was it that made you realize that it was time to share your music with the world?
I was getting to that point. I had kept it private for so long, for probably a lot of different reasons. I was just ready. I had come to terms with all the reasons I had kept it so private and all of a sudden was ready to let go of all of it. And once I put that into the universe, things started happening where I was given little pushes like, “Yes, let’s do it.”

My best friend Lily knew this DJ and wanted to send him my songs. Lily is just the girl I would sing to. When we were younger, she was my soulmate. She was the only person who would hear my songs. I would always send her voice memos and ask her if she liked this idea. So she sent it to him, saying “This is Chilly -- that’s what she calls me -- This is Chilly, she’s by far the spiciest, most electrifying.” She speaks the same way I do and just described me and he was like, “I need to meet her.” We met at a cafe and he started kind of mentoring me, and I felt really safe, like he really saw me. He took me to the right people and then I started meeting managers and I told him, “I don’t want anyone to manage me. I want you to manage me.” And so I pretty much just forced him to manage me.

Very persuasive! What do you want people to feel and take from this album?
I don’t have a goal of what I want people to take away. I write for myself to live, pretty much, but when people connect with my music, like I played “Someone New” at that Tumblr event last night and people were tearing up and I could just tell they felt it so hard. I want them to feel those songs and I want them to feel “Stick” and be like [empowering hand gestures with fists clenched], and “Goddess.” That’s it. That’s what music is.

This interview has been edited and condensed.



BANKS' "Goddess" will be available for purchase in the United States on Sept. 9.

"Goddess" Tracklist:
1. "Alibi"
2. "Goddess"
3. "Waiting Game"
4. "Brain"
5. "This Is What It Feels Like"
6. "You Should Know Where I’m Coming From"
7. "Stick"
8. "Fuck Em Only We Know"
9. "Drowning"
10. "Beggin’ For Thread"
11. "Change"
12. "Someone New"
13. "Warm Water"
14. "Under The Table"
15. "And I Drove You Crazy"*
16. "Bedroom Wall"*
17. "Fall Over"*
18. "Before I Ever Met You"*

*deluxe edition

Jason Reitman Got Adam Sandler To Play A Sad, Horny Dad In 'Men, Women & Children'

September 8, 2014, 1:00 pm

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On Sept. 4, 2013, as Jason Reitman was about to debut "Labor Day" at the Toronto International Film Festival, news broke that Reitman had cast Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner and Rosemarie DeWitt in "Men, Women & Children." One year later, Reitman's adaptation of Chad Kultgen's novel about the dangerous ways the digital age are affecting our interpersonal relationships had its premiere in Toronto. If only the speed with which "Men, Women & Children" went from trade stories to theater screens meant the production was easy on its director.

"This was a bear," Reitman told HuffPost Entertainment one day after the premiere of "Men, Women & Children." "My producer, Helen Estabrook, came in early and said it was going to be the hardest movie I ever made. She was right."

Starring Sandler, Garner, DeWitt, Ansel Elgort, Kaitlyn Dever, Judy Greer, J.K. Simmons and Dean Norris, "Men, Women & Children" is an ensemble drama in the vein of "Crash" and "Magnolia." In truth, Reitman's film owes more to "Little Children," Todd Field's 2006 movie about suburban ennui, sexual dysfunction and the things people don't say to each other. Adding the Internet to that mix might seem like an easy task, but as Reitman explained with great animation in our chat, it was the most difficult part. Every website, from Facebook to Tumblr to YouPorn, had to be created from scratch with the maximum amount of interactivity. Reitman wanted his cast to be able to click and search, just like they would if it was real life. He even directed porn star Tori Black for a web video that Sandler's Don watches while he masturbates.

"We had months of pre-production. The funny thing is people watch the movie and go, 'Yeah, Internet.' Like it's just a walk down the street," Reitman said. "It's like, no."

This is Reitman's sixth film, and after "Labor Day" -- a weepy romance that was the worst-reviewed film of Reitman's career -- puts the 36-year-old director back on a more familiar path. HuffPost Entertainment spoke to Reitman about "Men, Women & Children" and why audiences didn't accept "Labor Day" in the way he might have hoped.


Jason Reitman, Rosemarie DeWitt, Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner, Ansel Elgort and Kaitlyn Dever

What made you want Adam Sandler for this particular role?
Adam reached out to me probably about three years ago, when I was making "Labor Day." He wanted to talk about an idea he had. We sat down, and I kind of didn't know what to expect. I knew he was a nice guy, but I didn't know where his head was at as far as what movies he wanted to make. What I found was that the idea he wanted to work on was something I had actually been thinking about for a long time. We were closer than I thought, and I saw all sorts of new things in our conversation. As Erin Cressida Wilson and I started writing this movie, it dawned on me very early that Adam would be amazing as Don. But I wondered if he'd ever say yes to a movie like this; to be part of an ensemble, where the character has really tricky things he has to do. I sent him the script and that led to a month or two of conversation about what the tone of the movie was going to be. He finally said yes, and he came to the set and he was absolutely lovely. He would check in every day with me, whether he was working or not. If he wasn't working, he would text me and say, "How's Kaitlyn doing? How's Jen doing? Which scene is she doing? Is she killing it? Great." He's like George Clooney in that he just loves the process of making movies, and is so grateful to be making movies. They just want to be part of it all the time. They don't want wrap to come.

Sandler has done drama before, but this is a very different part for him. That happens, too, with Jennifer Garner and Judy Greer. As a director, do you enjoy casting people known for one thing and getting them to do something else?
I feel like my job is to try to find some sort of DNA within the actor that has connective tissue with the role and expose that. With Adam, when I met him I felt like I was engaging with a part that I hadn't seen on screen. It somehow occupies the same space as "Billy Madison" and "Happy Gilmore" and the character from "Punch-drunk Love," who was dramatic but wild in a whole different way. It's interesting because audiences have such an unusual relationship with Sandler. He's found a place in so many people's hearts that will never be occupied by somebody else. It allows you to do really interesting things. I can have a character who, as we open the movie, is masturbating by using his son's computer. Then he goes online and finds a prostitute who looks like a porn star he likes, and he goes on a date with that gal. He does crazy shit in this movie. But he does it subtly and so real, and he does it with that charm and the look in his eyes that allows us to go, "Well, he's a human being in search of intimacy." We just go with him. There are very few actors who have that.

You're active on Twitter, but it really plays such a small part in the movie compared to Tumblr and Facebook. Why?
At the end of the day, we're telling a story about people, and Twitter doesn't serve the purpose of the story. No one had a Twitter-based plot. So much of the movie is about our private lives, so it's that function of the Internet. How does the Internet function as a way for us to follow our curiosity into these dark holes where we don't know anybody and we interact with strangers? We pour our hearts out to strangers or we look to strangers for guidance. We look to them to make us feel all right about what we fear. Twitter isn't exactly that. It's the megaphone, but it's not among the ways we go to the Internet to hide.

When you have a movie like "Labor Day," which wasn't as well received as you would have liked, do you feel more pressure to get the next one right?
Not really. I know why I made "Labor Day." I think it was marketed kind of strange.

I think it should have come out on Labor Day, not even kidding.
There were a bunch of problems. But people just don't want that movie from me. I think people want something that is modern and more biting and darker -- more in the world of the movie I just made. I think they associate that with my voice. I felt a bit like a singer who said, "Hey, I'm going to try a reggae song." And they're like, "No. Don't play reggae. Fuck you. No more steel drum from you." If "Labor Day" had been my first film and it had been rejected that would have been a very complicated endeavor. "Labor Day" was my fifth film. This is my sixth film. I've made six films in nine years. Frankly, I'm less concerned about my career and more concerned about if we'll still make movies 10 years from now.

Do you think we will?
I really hope so. Things are changing, and I think you have to accept that. Cinema is only 100 years old. In the scope of historical storytelling, it's not as though cinema has been around since the wheel.

I was nervous before my premiere screening on Sunday, so I went down to the gym at the hotel. I'm on the elliptical, and on the one next to me is a famous director. He said, "You know, theater used to be ubiquitous and now it's something you do once in a blue moon. It would be sad if film became something you did once in a blue moon and just watched stuff on your laptop." But I don't have control over that. I like to make movies for the collective experience. Last night, I sat in a theater with a thousand people and we watched all kinds of uncomfortable moments together. You're sitting next to people, strangers, watching Sandler watch porn. Then you have an endearing moment or a mount that makes you laugh, and it brings you together. Which is, ironically, what this film is staring right down the lens of: Are we going to live our lives alone or together? Clearly I'm in favor of communication.

Bushwig 2014 Hits Brooklyn (NSFW)

September 8, 2014, 1:15 pm

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On Sept. 20, 2012, a drag, performance and music festival called Bushwig broke new ground in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

Two years later, Bushwig has absolutely exploded.

The third installment of Bushwig took place this past weekend at Secret Project Robot, growing from 30 participants in 2012 to over 160 this year, with performances spread over the course of a two-day period. This year's festival even brought out Lady Bunny, drag icon and founder of Wigstock -- the seminal drag festival whose legacy Bushwig builds upon.



"Bushwig is an event that not only acknowledges and honors its predecessor, Wigstock, but also forges new ground with the electric energy of a community living in Brooklyn and beyond," Untitled Queen previously told The Huffington Post. "The festival becomes an equal opportunity stage for performers to come together amongst their peers and a huge audience and blow everyone away."

Bushwig 2014 was a massive success, the culmination of months of planning by co-founders Horrorchata and Babes Trust. Check out photos of the event below and see for yourself.

Happy Bushwig!


All photos courtesy of Santiago Felipe. Curious to see more from some of these queens? Head here.

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Here's A List Of All The Ways You Can Die, From A to Z. Be Safe.

September 8, 2014, 1:47 pm

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You're going to die.

Sorry to break it to you, but it's going to happen. The question is, "How?"

This morbid, Edward Gorey-esque College Humor video posted Sept. 6 gives us a nursery rhyme list of everything that can kill us, from A to Z. Whether it be alcohol, fried food, pollution or zealotry, we are pretty much all doomed.

"So if you are wondering what makes you ill," says the friendly skeleton in the video above, "it's easy to know, because everything will."

Dun dun dun.

12 Jewelry Display Ideas That Perfectly Double As Decor

September 8, 2014, 2:50 pm

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Proud jewelry owners know that picking out accessories in the morning can feel like a monumental task. How are you supposed to choose just one statement necklace when several options work? Is there such thing as too many bangles? Should you wear those gorgeous earrings today or save them for the weekend? The struggle goes on and on.

The only thing more difficult than mulling over the aforementioned questions is figuring out how to fit everything in your jewelry box.

So we're suggesting this: Stop haphazardly stowing your pieces in some drawer and give them the attention they deserves with some show-off storage decor. Check out 12 ways to expertly display your jewelry below.

1. Employ the help of vintage saucers or catch-alls.




2. Drape your pieces on a fabulous home accent.




3. Do as the boutiques would do with acrylic holders.




4. Repurpose a cupcake dome or cake stand.




5. Take a minimalist approach and only show off your favorites.




6. Color-code your hooked statement pieces.




7. Upcycle a ceramic egg crate.




8. Prep the week's pieces in a tray.




9. Play with height.




10. Arrange it all by size.




11. Fill a frame.




12. Swap candy for bangles.




Have something to say? Check out HuffPost Home on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.


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Are you an architect, designer or blogger and would like to get your work seen on HuffPost Home? Reach out to us at homesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com with the subject line "Project submission." (All PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.)

Quadruple Amputee Hits New York Fashion Week Runway, Rediscovers Self-Confidence

September 8, 2014, 3:12 pm

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There's nothing like walking the runway at New York Fashion Week to renew a woman's self-confidence.

And now Karen Crespo, 31, knows exactly what that feels like. The Los Angeles native and registered nurse has had a longstanding interest fashion, but, in 2011 at age 28, her battle with a severe case of bacterial meningitis discouraged her from believing that it would one day be possible for her to join that world. Her doctors had to amputate all four of her limbs in order to save her life, Today.com reported, and the result left her with a body she did not recognize and struggled to accept.

But it was designer Carrie Hammer's model selection for her New York fashion show last February that gave Crespo the inspiration she needed. She reached out to Hammer via email soon after she read about her being the first designer to feature a model in a wheelchair. Hammer told HuffPost that Crespo thanked her for showing the world that, "beauty comes in all shapes and sizes there's absolutely no right or wrong."

Moved to tears by Crespo's kind words, Hammer responded by inviting her to participate in "Role Models, Not Runway Models," her second New York Fashion Week show last Friday. She also helped her get a new set of prosthetics for her runway debut, Fox 5 News reported, after learning that her recent order of custom-made limbs (worth $100,000) had been stolen from her porch after delivery.


Karen Crespo modeling for Carrie Hammer's Role Models Not Runway Models fashion show on Friday, Sept. 5, 2014, at New York Fashion Week

Becoming the first quadruple amputee to walk at New York Fashion Week last week, gave Crespo a new self-confidence she never expected to find after her life-threatening illness and operations years ago.

"I have a totally different perspective on things," she told Today.com. "Maybe this is why everything happened to me. Maybe I’m supposed to inspire or make a difference in someone else’s life, someone who has a disability, or maybe just someone who had a lot of self-doubt."

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3 Women Harmonizing A Georgian Song Will Transport You To Another Time

September 9, 2014, 8:32 am

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This Georgian folk song will entrance you.

In the video (above), posted to Reddit on Monday, three women are shown singing a beautiful love song. Their voices seamlessly harmonize together as they film themselves taking a walk.

According to the singers' Facebook page, they are known as Trio Mandili, composed of Tatia Mgeladze, Shorena Tsiskarauli and Ani Chincharauli.

A translated Reddit comment identifies the song as originating from eastern Georgia's mountainous Khevsureti region and states the song is about a traditional courting ritual between a man and woman.

Behold, The Met's Newly Renovated 70,706-Square-Foot Plaza

September 9, 2014, 8:32 am

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art's new David H. Koch Plaza is now open, and includes "completely new fountains, paving, and facade lighting, along with allées and bosques of trees leading to the Museum's entrances from north and south, and seating areas for visitors." The fountains are the standouts, and look absolutely gorgeous if you get eye level for an infinity pool effect—it helps to do this while basking in the sunset.