11 Witches From Fiction Who Embody What Feminism Really Means

October 31, 2014, 6:23 am

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Of all the spooky beings spotlighted on Halloween, none is more truly badass than the witch.

Sure, they may seem a little square in the age of sexy zombies and shimmering vampires -- the black pointed hat and broomstick have a musty, traditional air -- but let’s not turn our back on the supernatural beings that made fantasy exciting to the mainstream again. From "Bewitched" to "Charmed," witches have always maintained a cozy spot in the popular imagination, but with the arrival of Harry Potter, witchcraft exploded into a genuine craze. Though the changing tides of cultural fashion have elevated other fantastical beings, leaving witches in the dust, it’s worth asking whether we’d even be enjoying this bonanza of "The Walking Dead" and "The Vampire Diaries" were it not for J.K. Rowling’s internationally beloved witches and wizards.

Witches didn’t pop up in the 20th century, of course. Their historical record, which is largely quite grim, complicates a modern image glimmering with Hogwarts feasts and Melissa Joan Hart. Witchcraft was, for centuries, considered a capital offense. Historians have noted that those accused of witchcraft were predominantly women, especially women who didn’t adhere to societal convention. Witch trials enabled persecution of these more free-minded or unconventional female figures in society, such as those who were older and unmarried. Though witch trials represented an unpredictable and mortal threat to women of the time, this very fact is indicative of the close link between the concept of witchcraft and feminine power in a patriarchal and narrow-minded world.

Appropriately, many witches from fiction have personified female strength and supremacy, even as many of them have faced decidedly hostile circumstances. Here are 11 of the most badass witches from literature, who truly epitomize woman power:

Three Witches from Macbeth by William Shakespeare


“By the pricking of my thumbs, / Something wicked this way comes,” says one of the Weird Sisters as Macbeth approaches their coven. Though they seem evil and eerie, with their potion full of “birth-strangled babe,” “eye of newt and toe of frog” -- and worse -- they sense Macbeth’s guilty heart before they even see him. The portentous incantations of the three witches have probably done more to influence modern representations of witchcraft than any other depiction; their creepy repetition of “Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn and cauldron bubble” sets the standard for spooky witchery.

Elphaba from Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire


The Wicked Witch of the West finally gets to tell her own story, and while she may still seem rather wicked, she’s imbued with a complexity that allows us to admire the Wizard of Oz villain as well as deploring her. Elphaba is prickly, jealous and difficult; eventually her traumas lead her to increasingly vengeful and disturbing acts. But she’s also a person of conviction, who cares deeply about animal rights and social justice. She even belongs to a resistance movement to fight back against the Wizard’s oppressive policies. A gifted sorceress, she engineered that horde of flying monkeys you may remember. She seems like a lot more than the victim of a bucket of water once you get to know her a bit more.

Circe from The Odyssey by Homer


Circe was a bit of a predator, which is the primary connotation attached to her name in modern times. She bewitched men with her beauty and soft, nurturing demeanor, welcoming them to her home to rest and regain strength, only to curse them with sudden metamorphoses into livestock form. Only Odysseus himself, with the help of Hermes, escaped her snare. And of course, having overcome her spell, he threatened Circe with a sword until she placated him with sex... leading us to wonder if she was so unwise to turn all male comers to harmless animals. We’re not saying Circe was necessarily in the right, but hasn’t every proto-feminist felt a stab of gratification at the transformation of all those leering men into literal pigs?

Strega Nona from Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola


Strega Nona’s name roughly translates to “Grandma Witch” in Italian (though author Tomie dePaola says Nona is her given name), and this modern folk tale witch has the comforting solidity of your own granny. Strega Nona uses her witchcraft to cure the ailments of the townspeople and to feed herself from an endless pasta pot. Unfortunately she also has a bumbling servant, "Big Anthony, who did not pay attention." When Big Anthony secretly uses the pasta pot to make himself dinner, only to realize he doesn’t know how to stop the ceaseless flow of pasta, he panics as the town is slowly blanketed with an endless onslaught of spaghetti. Sensible Strega Nona, when she reappears, knows exactly what to do, immediately shutting down the pasta production and teaching Big Anthony a lesson by having him eat the spoils of his unwise venture. The best kind of witch, obviously, is just like your nana, but with unlimited pasta and magical powers.

Serafina Pekkala from His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman


Philip Pullman’s classic trilogy is peopled by badasses. Witches, in Pullman’s version of reality, have their own distinct brand of badassery, embodied primarily by the ethereal yet unbreakable Serafina, queen of the Lake Enara clan in Norway. Possessed of jaw-dropping beauty, Serafina appears young but is actually hundreds of years old; her lifespan could stretch on for centuries. She feels the cold, but, knowing it can’t hurt her, she simply doesn’t allow it to bother her, preferring to keep as little between her and the vibrations of the natural world as possible. She believes fate governs her, but remains committed to living with the principles of a person of free will. And though her life will far outlast any man’s, she has fallen in love and had a child with a human, despite the pain it would cause her to see him age and die while she remained young. She’s an enigmatic figure, but her strength and integrity shine through clearly.

Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling


Okay, you all knew this was coming. In fact, no list of badass fictional witches can exist without the inclusion of Hermione Granger, by law (or at least common sense). She’s courageous. She’s kind. She’s quick-witted. She’s erudite. She’s always prepared. And of course, her spellwork is impeccable. Unlike the hapless but well-meaning or powerful but evil varieties of witch, Hermione combines all the most admirable qualities a witch could have into one mop-headed package. As much as we love wizarding darling Harry, witchy Hermione is the true star of the series, having saved all their skins and the magical community at large at least once in every book. Sure, she can be a bit of a know-it-all, even a buzzkill, but given how much smarter and more dedicated to any given task she is than pretty much anyone else around, who can blame her?

Mrs. Which from A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle


Mrs. Which may not be a witch per se, but she certainly has fun with the "which"/"witch" homophone. An otherworldly (literally) being with an echoing voice and abundant supernatural powers, Mrs. Which could hardly be anything so mundane as a mere earthly witch. Her true form isn’t even human, though it’s unclear what it is; at times she appears to the Murry children as no more than a disembodied light. And yet when she does take human form, when circumstances require it, she once chooses to appear as a classic witch in a pointed hat. Rather appropriate, actually, given her many powers and rather eerie presence.

Morwen from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede


A passel of stereotypes go along with being a witch, as Mrs. Which well knew. Pointed hats, broomsticks, a hunched posture, a black cat familiar, tattered robes. But just as Cimorene, the independent-minded princess at the heart of the series, refused to be hemmed in by such narrow-minded expectations, Morwen, her witch friend, scoffs at convention and turns up her nose at tradition. Despite the societal expectation that she will have just one cat, a familiar, she fills her house with cats, and she’s made a potion that allows her to understand their thoughts (why doesn’t this exist in real life??). She refuses to wear a pointed hat, or to hunch over, and she prefers to keep her house neat and tidy with normal apples growing in the garden -- not the behaviors of a textbook fairytale witch. Insisting on staying true to yourself rather than conforming might be the most badass quality of all.

White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis


Jadis, also known as the White Witch, might have been evil down to the bone, but she got shit done. Aside from Earth, the only world she encounters in which her magical powers don’t work, Jadis manages to rise to power and eventually gain total dominion over every land in which she’s lived. When her first realm is destroyed, Jadis falls into a charmed sleep until an opportunity arises to find a new kingdom -- Narnia, which she encounters at its birth. She retreats to the north to rebuild her powers, only returning when she’s ready to conquer Narnia and cast it into an eternal winter (but never Christmas!). An army of menacing creatures enforce her laws, and she’s able to punish offenders by turning scofflaws to stone. Jadis is the epitome of the terrifyingly evil witch -- with the political savvy, charm and sorcerous powers to rise above the rest.

Witches from The Witches by Roald Dahl


It’s one thing to reimagine vampires to make them infinitely more glamorous (sparkly, say?), but Roald Dahl goes in rather the opposite direction with his subversion of the witch trope in The Witches. They’re just as evil and far more insidious than the cartoonishly green and warty variety; though they not really human, they’re able to disguise their telling traits relatively easily. They have toeless feet that they hide in pointy shoes, bald heads that they cover with wigs, and claws that they conceal with gloves -- even in the summer. Most disturbing of all, these witches work by turning children into vermin or livestock so their own family will attack them, not realizing what they’re doing. These witches aren’t admirable or endearing, but Dahl knows how to make an old horror trope viscerally frightening once again. Say what you will about the witches of The Witches -- they’re genuinely horrifying.

Agnes Nutter from Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman


Agnes puts a comical spin on the tragic figure of Cassandra, the prophetess who was cursed with the power of accurate prophecies no one believed. Good Omens charts the arrival on earth of the Antichrist, in the person of a rather ordinary young boy, and the ensuing chaos -- all of which was predicted centuries before by Agnes in a book called The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. The book sold poorly (perhaps because of, rather than in spite of, the plodding precision and accuracy of the forecasts), and Agnes was eventually burned at the stake, a fate she herself foretold and prepared for by packing her clothes with explosives that killed her executioners along with her. Bold, caustic, and possessed of an unerring inner eye that foresaw all the boring events that would come to pass, Agnes did the entire witching profession proud.

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5 Things You Didn't Know About 'The Simpsons'

October 31, 2014, 6:32 am

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"The Simpsons" has been around for nearly 25 years, but even the show's most avid watchers may have missed certain key facts. For instance, do you know why Maggie's "price" as she's slid across the cash register is $847.63? No? Then watch away:



H/T Mashable

What Tripping On Mushrooms Looks Like In The Brain

October 31, 2014, 6:48 am

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We've all heard recreational hallucinogen users describe their trips as "consciousness expanding," and according to some new research, this poetic description may have a scientific basis.

Using fMRI imaging from healthy participants who ingested psilocybin, the active ingredient in hallucinogenic "magic" mushrooms, researchers from Imperial College London found that the drug caused brain regions that are typically disconnected to communicate with each other.

In a normal brain state, there's little cross-linking between different networks. But researchers found that on the psilocybin, the networks begin cross-linking all over the place. And these new connections weren't random. "It not so much that the number of connections are increased but rather that the connectivity pattern is different in the psychedelic state," Paul Expert, the study's lead author, wrote in an email to The Huffington Post.

That corroborates some of the common effects of psilocybin reported by users, such as new insights and realizations, synesthesia and nonlinear thinking.

Expert and colleagues used a new technique for network modeling, which is designed to look at network connectivity across the brain, rather than isolated systems or chemicals. The researchers compared the fMRI scans of the people who had taken psilocybin to fMRI data from 15 healthy individuals who had taken a placebo. Specifically, they were looking at functional connectivity -- the communication between different brain regions that share functional properties.

While a simple reading of the data would suggest that psilocybin is simply relaxing constraints on brain function and improving cognitive flexibility, it's a bit more complicated, Expert says.

"The brain does not simply become a random system after psilocybin injection, but instead retains some organizational features, albeit different from the normal state," Expert and his team wrote in the report. "Functional connections support cycles that are especially stable and are only present in the psychedelic state."


Functional connectivity of a normal brain (left), compared to a brain on psilocybin.

"We find that the psychedelic state is associated with a less constrained and more intercommunicative mode of brain function, which is consistent with descriptions of the nature of consciousness in the psychedelic state," Expert and colleagues conclude.

Previous research on psychedelics from Imperial College London found that people on psilocybin had brain activity patterns more commonly associated with dreaming and heightened emotional functioning. In a Slate article on the finding, researcher Robin Carhart-Harris explained that when the emotion system is activated, the brain's "ego system," from which we get a sense of self, quiets down.

"Evidence from this study, and also preliminary data from an ongoing brain imaging study with LSD, appears to support the principle that the psychedelic state rests on disorganized activity in the ego system permitting disinhibited activity in the emotion system," Carhart-Harris wrote in Slate. "And such an effect may explain why psychedelics have been considered useful facilitators of certain forms of psychotherapy."

Expert's research is part of a larger effort to understand how psychedelics work and what their potential psychiatric applications might be. So far, the growing body of research has made some promising findings. A 2012 study found that psilocybin might be an effective intervention for depressive thinking, while research published earlier this year found LSD psychotherapy to be effective in easing end-of-life anxiety among patients suffering from terminal illness. Research being conducted on ayahuasca -- a potent hallucinogen, derived from the compound DMT, which has been used as a healing tool in Amazonian shamanism for hundreds of years -- is being studied as a potential treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction and other conditions.

Expert's research itself could be an important step towards devising psilocybin-assisted therapy for treating chronic depression.

"One of the characteristics of the depressed brain is that it gets stuck in a loop, you get locked into repetitive and negative thoughts," Expert told HuffPost. "An analogy is a particle stuck in a deep minimum in an energy landscape and is stuck there. The idea is that using psilocybin might help break the loop, change the patterns of functional connectivity in the brain, or in the analogy of the particle, give it enough energy so that is can escape from its minimum and explore the rest of the energy landscape."

CORRECTION: An image caption in an earlier version of this story stated that the image on the right was that of a normal brain, but it is the image on the left. We regret the error.

A Cartoon Alpaca Voiced By Amy Poehler Explains Economic Inequality

October 31, 2014, 6:51 am

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Ever dream Amy Poehler would explain economic issues to you in the form of a cute alpaca? Well, you're in luck.

Directed by Adam McKay, a new video for We The Economy called "The Unbelievably Sweet Alpacas" features Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Sarah Silverman. The trio voices adorable alpacas who have just graduated from their sweetness schools and are about to enter the work force for the first time. Unfortunately, their quest to the lollipop factory in search of jobs takes a turn when they're met with the harsh realities of the current economic climate. Systematic inequality and social immobility have never been quite so ... rainbow.



H/T Washington Post

This $129,000 Michigan House Is Hiding A Million Dollar Treasure

October 31, 2014, 9:14 am

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Music lovers, inquire within. There's something you're gonna wanna see on 1117 Third Street.

From the outside, we have to admit that the house looks like your average single family home. It's got your standard one bedroom, one-and-a-half bath and two-car garage on a pretty, quiet street in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is on the market for $129,900.



But inside the house, unsuspecting buyers will find an organ that covers roughly one-third of the ENTIRE house. According to the listing, the wind-powered organ has 2,300 pipes that "provide more musical ability than most churches have installed" and is from the 1900s.

If the Kimball organ was installed brand new today, it would retail anywhere from $800,000 to 1 million dollars.





Mark Douglas, the real estate agent for the house, informed HuffPost Home via email that the late owner of the masterpiece, Bill Tufts, didn't play at all and was actually an auto mechanic by trade. "He was completely enamored with pipe organs, would travel to hear them played and even purchased additional land from the neighbors in order to build the addition on the right of the home to house the pipes," Douglas said.

The organ itself comes from a church in Muskegon, Michigan. In need of serious repair, Tufts purchased and installed it with the help of a few technician friends. It goes from the basement to a cathedral ceiling, with the longest pipe coming in at 17 feet. Due to a lot of insulation, the organ isn't as noisy as you think it would be. "Probably not any more than your average church would leak sound," said Douglas.







Though it isn't quite like finding gold dust in your floorboards (possibly better!) we're pretty sure this treasure is going to make the next buyer really happy. No music experience required.

Check out more pictures of the house below:

Cellist And Beatboxer Treat Southwest Flight To Impromptu Performance

October 31, 2014, 10:55 am

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"So a renowned cellist and a beatboxer meet on a Southwest flight..."

No, that's not the setup for a cheesy joke; the cellist-beatboxer collaboration actually happened, and the impromptu performance they gave passengers was more entertaining than any bad joke could ever be.

Cellist Francisco Vila and beatboxer Maximillian Reynolds (aka "Maxbeatbox") were on a flight bound for Denver earlier this month, reports The Telegraph, along with the Indianapolis University Chamber Orchestra. When they learned of each other's talents, they apparently decided to "wing it."

WATCH the cellist and the beatboxer perform, above.

H/T Digg

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Rush Limbaugh Has A Despicable Take On Viral Catcalling Video

October 31, 2014, 11:01 am

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Just when you thought Rush Limbaugh had insulted women enough.

During an Oct. 30 segment of "The Rush Limbaugh Show," Limbaugh responded to the viral video of a woman being harassed while walking in New York City with a chain of decidedly offensive comments.

"Most of it was just men being polite," he said, adding he didn't think the bulk of the comments were particularly aggressive. "You see a pretty woman; you react to it."

He went on to deem street harassment the failure of modern feminism.

"What we are living here in the middle of is the failure -- a massive failure -- of modern day feminism," he said. "Modern day feminism was going to protect women from this kind of mean-spirited, extremist, boorish, predatory behavior, and it hasn't."

And then declared his "love" for the women's movement with this: "People misunderstand me and the women's movement," Limbaugh said. "I love the women's movement, especially when walking behind it."

In addition, when a woman called in to share her experience, Limbaugh -- who said he'd never catcalled a woman because he thinks it's "cheap" -- asserted he was skeptical of the frequency of street harassment in the city.

"I've walked a couple of feet in New York, now and then," he said. "I may have even walked a whole block once ... I didn't see it happening to any other woman, is my point. I've never seen it. I'm not denying that it happens. Don't misunderstand."

No words.

H/T Media Matters

11 Times Mr. Bean Taught You To Embrace Your Inner Child By Acting Like One

October 31, 2014, 12:33 pm

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Few words describe Mr. Bean (and he says even fewer).

Believe it or not, Rowan Atkinson created Bean around the same time he was studying for his Masters in Electrical Engineering. Since that time, Atkinson's character -- which he described as "a child in a grown man’s body" -- has developed into a worldwide phenomenon, sparking multiple television series, sketches, movies and more.

Halloween marks the anniversary of the 13th episode in the original Mr. Bean series, "Goodnight Mr. Bean," which first aired on Oct. 31, 1995 on ITV. Only 14 episodes were ever created in the original run, and there is a lot of discrepancy when the 14th aired, with many sources saying it never debuted until 2006 on Nickelodeon, which would make "Goodnight Mr. Bean" the last new episode of the series to air for 11 years.

In honor of that Mr. Bean anniversary, here are 11 times he taught us to embrace our inner child by totally acting like one:


1. The time he flew in an airplane




2. The time he became a hairdresser




3. The time he saved a goldfish




4. The time he had an eating competition




5. The time he was falling asleep in church




6. The time he rode a roller coaster




7. The time he learned self defense




8. The time he went to the beach




9. The time he was packing for trip




10. The time he couldn't find parking




11. The time someone took his pants



What's your favorite Mr. Bean moment?

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National Parks Graffiti Won't Be Easy To Remove

October 31, 2014, 12:39 pm

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A series of graffiti-like paintings on rocks in National Parks across the West set off a furor on social media this month, angering people who say they desecrated some of the nation's most famously picturesque landscapes. They've also created a headache for park managers who have the delicate task of cleaning up the sites without causing further damage.

It won't be easy to get rid of the paintings, photos of which were posted on Instagram and Tumblr and then picked up by hiking blogs. Sandblasting and some chemical strippers can cause even more damage to irreplaceable natural features, especially if graffiti is near ancient rock art.

In some cases, workers use plastic kitchen spatulas to painstakingly scrape off paint. Workers test different chemicals to figure out which will loosen the material without damaging rock, then rinse it off with lots of low-pressure hot water, gently scraping each layer away with the spatula, said National Parks spokesman Jason Olson.

"They will repeat that as often as it takes until they remove all the paint or until they can't remove any more," he said. He said Friday he didn't know how much it might cost to remove the paint in eight parks across California, Colorado, Utah and Oregon. One colorful painting of a woman with blue hair at Crater Lake National Park is already covered in ice and snow and workers might not be able to reach it until next summer.

Casey Nocket, the 21-year-old suspect identified by the park service this week, allegedly used acrylic paint and signed with the handle "creepytings." Attempts to reach Nocket were unsuccessful. A phone listing for her was disconnected and her social media accounts have been shut down or made private.

The National Park Service said this week they've found paintings in Yosemite, Death Valley and Joshua Tree in California; Crater Lake in Oregon; Zion National Park and Canyonlands in Utah; and Rocky Mountain in Colorado, where Colorado National Monument was also tagged.

Zion National Park is home to red-rock bluffs, sweeping canyons— and now a backpack-sized drawing of a woman smoking on a rock near a trail named for emerald-colored pools of water.

It's not the first time rangers have had to clean up, though paint is an unusual choice for vandals there.

Supervisory ranger Ray O'Neil said minor graffiti is scratched onto rock every day. Rangers carry nylon bristle brushes and water to brush it off as they see it.

At Joshua Tree in California, the park service has graffiti they think is from Nocket to deal with, and also a project to clean up the historic Barker Dam, which is nearly covered with scratched-on graffiti.

"Even though people know they shouldn't do it, as soon as someone else has done they just jump right on board," said cultural resources chief Jason Theuer. Sandblasting the structure originally built in 1902 to provide water for cattle could cause microscopic cracks, damaging the surface and creating a home for water and bacteria that cause more damage. Instead, they're using paint to fill it in.

Rangers deal with graffiti nearly weekly there, and the most difficult material to clean off is metallic spray paint. In some cases, graffiti near ancient petroglyphs or pictographs is nearly impossible to remove and rangers have to leave it.

Even if the rock art itself isn't damaged, the soil itself can contain other essential archaeological clues like microfossils that can be damaged by cleanup chemicals.

That's why officials say people shouldn't remove images themselves if they see them. Instead, they're hoping that the high-profile case raises awareness about an issue that's all too common in the parks.

"It's a basic, fundamental underlying facet of human nature is to sort of leave our mark," said Theuer. "Our national parks are not the place for it."

'How To Get Away With Murder' Lays Bare Why Cheating Doesn't Always Mean The End

October 31, 2014, 1:58 pm

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ALERT: The following piece and video contain spoilers for Thursday's episode of "How to Get Away with Murder."

From its inception, "How To Get Away With Murder" set itself up against the morally black-and-white legal tales of standard network procedurals: "The question I'm asked most often as a defense attorney is whether I can tell if my clients are innocent or guilty," Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) tells her new students. "And my answer is always the same: I don't care." On Thursday night, the show applied that same resistance to easy moralizing to the realm of interpersonal relationships.

Toward the end of the hour, Annalise's husband, Sam, discovers that his wife planted evidence to help bring Rebecca home, ensuring Wes wouldn't release information about Sam's affair with Lila Stangard to the police.

"Why are you doing all this for me?" he asks Annalise. "I need you," she says, breaking into tears. "Don't you get that? After everything you've done to me -- lying to me, screwing that girl, I need you."

So often, television shows use infidelity as an easy conflict to break couples apart, without going into the actual nuanced emotions that can surround a betrayal. The shows seem to suggest: the cheater is bad, the cheated upon should leave, and if he or she doesn't, it's okay to judge them. Instead, "How To Get Away With Murder" presents Annalise's response without judgement, as a truthful reaction to a situation that -- like many similar scenarios real life -- is more complex, confusing, and morally gray than it can appear to those on the outside.

Check out the full scene in the clip below.

Hubble Spies Spooky 'Ghost Light' Of Dead Galaxies

October 31, 2014, 2:14 pm

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Just in time for Halloween, the Hubble Space Telescope has spotted something a bit spooky: the faint glow of stars spewed out billions of years ago by galaxies in their death throes.

(Story continues below.)



The image shows "Pandora's Cluster," a group of 500 galaxies--formally known as Abell 2744--located 4 billion light-years from Earth. The "ghost light" (artificially colored in blue in the photo above) comes from so-called orphan stars that drift freely between galaxies.

Astronomers believe these stars were once part of as many as six Milky Way-sized galaxies that were torn apart by gravitational forces around 9 billion years ago. They hope to use the "ghost light" to gain a better understanding of how galaxy clusters form and change.

“The Hubble data revealing the ghost light are important steps forward in understanding the evolution of galaxy clusters,” Ignacio Trujillo, an astrophysicist at The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, who was involved in the Abell 2744 research, said in a written statement.

A study describing the research was published online Oct. 1 in The Astrophysical Journal.

Here's A Daniel Radcliffe Doppelganger Rapping About Harry Potter

October 31, 2014, 2:29 pm

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We know Daniel Radcliffe has some rap skills, but what about a Harry Potter rap?

Writer and Comedian Willy Appelman, creator of "How To Get Bangs" and "Hummus," brings this new take on Daniel Radcliffe's recent adventures in rapping on Jimmy Fallon.

Obviously the next step is rapping about the world of Harry Potter, so check out this sketch from Appelman as a pretty convincing Radcliffe doppelganger dropping rhymes about Hogwarts, Dumbledore and more.

Taylor Swift Is Still Dancing To That Iggy Azalea Song

October 31, 2014, 2:30 pm

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Back in August, Taylor Swift -- as his her wont -- danced in her seat while Iggy Azalea performed "Black Widow" at the MTV Video Music Awards.


GIF: Us Weekly

Here in October, Swift is still dancing to that one. The singer made an appearance on Ryan Seacrest's radio show, "On Air with Ryan Seacrest," and danced like no one was watching. Except everyone was.


GIF: YouTube

This is peak Swift. We approve.

[via Noisey]

Ryan Murphy Confirms All 'American Horror Story' Seasons Are Connected

October 31, 2014, 3:18 pm

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Following months of speculation, Ryan Murphy has confirmed that all seasons of "American Horror Story" are connected. Murphy revealed the news during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, published on Friday:

They’re all connected. We’re just beginning to tell you how they’re connected. They’re all very separate but there’s clues every season that we’re now telling you how the different worlds are intertwined.

Murphy's words are music to the ears of fans who have speculated for months about ties between the show's four seasons. Back in July, it was revealed that Naomi Grossman's Pepper, from Season 2's "Asylum," would return for the current season, "Freak Show." In keeping with the Season 2 theme, Lily Rabe will reappear on the anthology series as her "Asylum" character, Sister Mary Eunice, for an upcoming "Freak Show" episode. Sites such as Vulture found many other connections between the four seasons, as did Reddit users. (One fan theory is that Season 5 could be about Area 51 and aliens, which would tie that forthcoming run to "Asylum" as well.)

"Part of the fun of the show is the Rubik’s cube design of it, but, yes, there are purposeful connections, character connections, and similarities and things that connect that we’ll continue to connect moving forward," Murphy told EW.com.

One of these clues is the scene where the character Maggie (Emma Roberts) is handed a coffee cup and there is a close up on a top hat, which the show creator confirmed is actually a clue for Season 5. Start your guessing now ...

For the full interview with Murphy, head to EW.com.

"AHS: Freak Show" airs Wednesday at 10:00 p.m. ET on FX.

A Brief But Stunning Visual History Of Ballet In The 20th Century

October 31, 2014, 4:58 pm

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As holiday season approaches, visions of sugar-plum fairies inevitably begin dancing in our heads. 'Tis the time of "The Nutcracker," and other classic ballet performances that countdown to a whole new season of dance across the world. In honor of the possibilities of the 2014-2015 season, we dug into the photographic archives of Getty and the Associated Press to find the most iconic snapshots of ballerinas and prima donnas over the ages.

Below is a brief but beautiful visual history of the art form, ranging from 1911 to 1999. From Vaslav Nijinsky to Benjamin Millepied, Anna Pavlov to Sylvie Guillem, the collection of vintage portraits gives a mostly black-and-white glimpse into over a century's worth of ballet greats. Much has changed in terms of representation and body image over the years, and while we can only hope to see more diversity, it certainly shows in these images. Take a look and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

1910s


Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky (1890-1950) performs in 1911 in Paris in the role of Petrouchka in a ballet composed by Igor Stravinsky. (Photo credit should read ROOSEN/AFP/Getty Images)


Vaslav Nijinsky (1890-1950) as the faun at the premiere of Ballet Russe's production of "L'Apres-midi d'un Faune" at the Theatre du Chatelet Paris in May of 1912. (Photo by Edward Gooch/Edward Gooch/Getty Images)


Ballet dancer Sandrini Debat-Ponsan in 1913. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)


Boys of the advanced class learning ballet-dancing in the Imperial School in St Petersburg in 1913. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)


Ballerina Anna Pavlova (1882-1931), who danced all over the world, dressed for her most famous role as the solo dancer in "The Dying Swan" created in 1905 by Mickhail Fokine. Image circa 1915. (Photo by Claude Harris/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)


Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (1885-1931) dancing in a production of "Gavotte." Image circa 1915. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

1920s


Marja Ambrozewicz, a teacher at the Ballet School of Warsaw, shown in Paris around 1920. (Photo by Choumoff/Roger Viollet/Getty Images)


Famed ballet dancer Anna Pavlova posing for a portrait in Belgium on September 16, 1927. (AP Photo)


Russian Ballet dancers Lyubov Tchernicheva, Alice Nikitina, Alexandra Danilova (1904-1997), Felia Doubrovska and Serge Lifar during a production of "Apollon Musagetes" in 1928, composed by Igor Stravinsky and choreographed by George Balanchine. (Photo by Sasha/Getty Images)


Alexandra Danilova in "Apollo Musagete" in Paris in June of 1928. (Photo by Lipnitzki/Roger Viollet/Getty Images)


Ballet Russe dancers, Serge Lifar (1905-1986) and Alexandra Danilova (1904-1997) in "Apollon Musagetes" in 1928. (Photo by Sasha/Getty Images)

1930s


"Les Songes," Balanchine's ballet, in 1933. (Photo by Lipnitzki/Roger Viollet/Getty Images)


Nini Theilade, an Indonesian ballet dancer, adopting a ballet pose for a studio portrait in September 1933. (Photo by Sasha/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)


"Beauty And The Beast" audition at Lyceum Theater in London in November of 1937. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)


A dancer tying up her shoes in 1937. (Photo by Baron/Getty Images)


Vera Zorina, the stage name of Eva Hartwig, the ballet dancer and actress, rehearsing with her husband George Balanchine for the Warner Brothers musical production of "On Your Toes" in 1939. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)


Tamara Toumanova, one of George Balanchine's original "baby ballerinas," shown in 1939. (AP Photo)

1940s


Trinidad-born ballerina Pamela May (Doris May, 1917-2005) performing in "Dante Sonata," by Frederick Ashton, in 1940. (Photo by Baron/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)


Dutch ballet dancer Marina Franca (b. 1918) poses on point in a peacock costume on April 18, 1941. (Photo by Weegee (Arthur Fellig) / International Center of Photography / Getty Images)


Dancers from the Ballet Rambert during a performance at the Open Air Theatre in Brockwell Park, London in 1943. (Photo by Fred Ramage/Keystone Features/Getty Images)


A dancer in "The Quest," performed by the Sadler's Wells Ballet at the New Theatre in 1943. (Photo by Tunbridge/Tunbridge-Sedgwick Pictorial Press/Getty Images)


English ballerina Alicia Markova (1910-2004) of the Ballets Russes in costume for the ballet "Aurora's Wedding" by Sergei Diaghilev in New York City in 1946. (Photo by Constance Bannister Corp/Getty Images)


Behind the stage curtains, Susan, niece of the dancer Alicia Markova Asshe, imitates her aunt who is performing with Anton Dolin on stage in 1949. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

1950s


The cast of a Festival Ballet production of Jules Perrot's ballet "Pas De Quatre," at a photo-call in London in 1950. The dancers are Nathalie Krassovska (1918-2005) as Carlotta Grisi, Alexandra Danilova (1904-1997) as Fanny Cerito, Tatiana Riabouchinska (1917-2000) as Lucille Grahn and Alicia Markova (1910-2004) as Marie Taglioni. (Photo by Baron/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)


Tanaquil Le Clercq (1929-2000), a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, in costume for "Bourree Fantasque," in 1950. (Photo by Baron/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)


British ballerina, director and choreographer Gillian Lynne in "Ballet Imperial" by George Balanchine in 1950. (Photo by Baron/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)


The New York City Ballet performing "Orpheus" in 1952. (Photo by Lipnitzki/Roger Viollet/Getty Images)


Ballet teacher Marjorie Middleton instructing her pupils in ballet positions during a lesson in one of the studios at the Scottish Ballet School at Grosvenor Crescent, Edinburgh in 1955. (Photo by Malcolm Dunbar/Picture Post/Getty Images)


Russian ballerina Galina Sergeevna Ulanova (1910-1998) of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1958. (Photo by Leonid Lazarev/Getty Images)

1960s


Maria Tallchief performing "Swan Lake" in December of 1960. (Photo by Jack Mitchell/Getty Images)


This May 1961 photo shows ballerina Melissa Hayden, a lyrical, exquisite dancer who performed with the New York City Ballet for more than 20 years. (AP Photo )


Martha Graham and company perform "Phaedra" in August of 1962. (Photo by Jack Mitchell/Getty Images)


Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev dances with Rosella Hightower during a dress rehearsal at the B.B.C. television studios in London in 1962. (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images)


Ballerina Nadia Nerina in "Electra" circa 1963. (Photo by M McKeown/Getty Images)


Ballet dancers Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev rehearsing "La Bayadere" on stage in 1963. (Photo by Victor Blackman/Express/Getty Images)


Maria Tallchief performing "Firebird" at the NYC Ballet on September 19, 1963. (Photo by Jack Mitchell/Getty Images)


Members of the Alvin Ailey American Ballet posing together while in London for a season at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1964. Left to right -- Lucinda Ranson, Loretta Abbott and Joan Peters. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)


African American male and female dancers perform ballet at the Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York in 1965. (Photo by Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images)


The dancers Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn rehearsing the ballet "Paradise Lost" by Roland Petit at the Royal Opera House in London on February 20, 1967. Lifted up by the other dancers, they meet "flying in the air." (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

1970s


Photo of Darcey Bussell circa 1970. (Photo by Phil Dent/Redferns)


Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov, member of the Bolshoi Ballet, pictured at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York on July 10, 1973. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler)


Russian dancers Alexander Godunov (1949-1995) and prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya perform in a scene from "La Rose Malade" during a Stars of the Bolshoi Ballet performance at Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera House in New York on September 21, 1974. (Photo by Linda Vartoogian/Getty Images)


Russian ballet dancer Maya Plisetskaya performs Mikhail Fokine's "The Dying Swan" with the Stars of the Bolshoi Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York on September 21, 1974. (Photo by Linda Vartoogian/Getty Images)


South African-born British ballet dancer Monica Mason (as "Nikiya, a temple dancer") and Russian ballet dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev (as "Solor, a warrior") dance with the Royal Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York on April 30, 1976. (Photo by Linda Vartoogian/Getty Images)


George Balanchine and dancer Suzanne Farrell wearing Van Cleef and Arpels jewelry for Balanchine's ballet "Jewels" on September 24, 1976 in Paris. (Photo by RDA/Getty Images)


Cuban dancers Lazaro Carreno, left, and Maria Llorente, right, pose with Alvin Ailey dancer Judith Jamison (center) at New York's City Center on Tuesday in May 1977. U.S. choreographer Alvin Ailey arranged for the two stars of the National Cuban Ballet to come to the U.S. for his opening night benefit at the City Center on Wednesday. (AP Photo)


Dancer, choreographer, actor and former artistic director of the American Ballet Theatre, Mikhail Baryshnikov rehearses the Twyla Tharp ballet "When Push Comes to Shove" at the Hollywood Bowl on August 2, 1979 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Joan Adlen/Getty Images)

1980s


Russian-born French dancer Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) and American ballerina Eva Evdokimova (1948-2009) perform in Nureyev's version of "The Nutcracker" with the Berlin Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York on July 18, 1980. (Photo by Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images)


Yoko Ichino, circa 1982, as a first soloist with the National Ballet of Canada. She rehearsed up to six hours each day. (Photo by Boris Spremo/Toronto Star via Getty Images)


Dancers Mikhail Baryshnikov and Cheryl Yeager rehearse the pas de deux from "Don Quixote" in Philadelphia on Augist 16, 1982. (AP Photo/George Widman)


Italian dancer Alessandra Ferri dancing for the Royal Ballet in 1984. (Photo by AGIP/RDA/Getty Images)


Roberta Marquez performs as Giselle during a Royal Ballet dress rehearsal of "Giselle" at The Royal Opera House in London in 1985. (JOHN D MCHUGH/AFP/Getty Images)


Natalia Bessmertnova of the Bolshoi Ballet dancing "Romeo and Juliet" at the Coliseum in 1989. (Photo by Michael Ward/Getty Images)

1990s


Boston Ballet principal dancer Fernando Bujones, left, dances the role of Siegfried and Bolshoi Ballet ballerina Nina Ananiashvili, right, performs as Odette in the final dress rehersal for Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" in Boston Wednesday afternoon, May 2, 1990. (AP Photo/Peter Southwick)


Ballet dancers Laurent Hilaire and Sylvie Guillem rehearsing at the Royal Ballet School, Britain circa 1992. (Photo by Michael Ward/Getty Images)


Full-length image of Latvian-born dancer, choreographer and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov performing a dance solo from Paul Taylor's "Aureole," New York City in 1993. He was a featured guest artist for the program. (Photo by Sara Krulwich/New York Times Co./Getty Images)


Ukrainian National Opera stars Takita Shinoby of Japan and Gennady Zhalo perform a pas-de-deux from "La Bayadere" by Minkus, during Ukrainian National Ballet Competition-Festival in Kiev, Ukraine on January 31, 1996. (AP Photo/Victor Pobedinsky)


Benjamin Millepied, in mask, and Alexandra Ansanelli, second from right, leap in the air as dancers from the New York City Ballet and Students from School of American Ballet perform "Harlequinade", choreographed by George Balanchine, at the World Financial Center Winter Garden on Monday, Feb. 3, 1997 in New York. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler)


Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet rehearse a number for their production of George Balanchine's "Serenade" on October 22, 1999. The ballet is performed by 28 dancers in blue costumes before a blue background. (AP Photo/Dan Loh)

For more on what's been happening in the world of dance in New York City, check out our recent roundup of must-see performances here.

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Meet The Hulking Young Stars Of Senegal -- Male Professional Wrestlers

October 31, 2014, 5:04 pm

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In Senegal, professional wrestling reigns supreme. Seeing as it's the national sport, those who successfully practice lutte sénégalaise, or laamb, are considered heroes in their home country, treated like movie stars or royalty. Though unlike the WWE stars in America who transformed wrestling into an entertainment spectacle throughout the '90s, the burgeoning wrestling champions in Senegal are reaching new heights of popularity while attempting to maintain ties to their traditional folk roots.

Amsterdam-based photographer Ernst Coppejans recently spent several weeks shadowing the men and boys who are working to become the next big laamb champions. His portraits capture the hulking subjects on a beach in the small village of Yene where they train. Contorted and posed, mid-grapple or lounging by the sea, Coppejans' images demonstrate a different kind of masculinity.



The series, titled "Lutteur," began while Coppejans was traveling in West Africa, seeking to meet and photograph members of the gay community there. The resulting project, "Dans le Milieu," explores West Africa's laws that prohibit same sex relationships. While in Senegal, however, Coppejans became particularly fascinated with the wrestlers he saw on the beaches. After a bit of research, he decided to join the Senegalese hopefuls for a month, attending their tournaments and observing their practices.

"Champions are worshiped," Coppejans explained to The Huffington Post. "Many Senegalese boys train fanatically to make their dream, becoming a famous lutteur come true." The allure of fame and fortune from sport clearly crosses national borders. Talented lutteurs will wear talismans (gris-gris) and douse themselves in blessed liquid to better their chances of triumph, while connecting to the older folk rituals based on faith and luck. But while the majority of competitors make around $2,000 per season, the small percentage of elite winners can earn up to $100,000 per combat.



“There is a mirage, a sort of dream, that the youth of the country are living,” Malick Thiandoum, a sports broadcaster for Senegalese Radio and Television, stated to The New York Times. “But we are in the process of telling them, ‘Be careful, because there is a gap between what you believe and reality.'"

Cappejans captures portraits of the wrestlers, clad in loincloth and shorts, before they've been fully enveloped by this reality. "What I love about this series is that it is all about hopes and dreams," he added. "Not many make it as a professional wrestler, but they sure are gonna try. It's a way out of poverty and a way to a better life."



For more on the multinational world of wrestling, check out Laurent Goldstein's series on kushti here.

Artist Transforms Breakup Texts Into Works Of Art

October 31, 2014, 5:04 pm

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Breaking up via text isn't just bad form; it can turn into a truly surreal experience.

Ending an amorous relationship with an often clichéd string of characters through the internet or a mobile phone ia about as impersonal and anti-romantic as it gets. Artist Allison L. Wade explores the bizarre and ubiquitous practice with a bright and biting series entitled "It's Not You." The artworks explore the awkward space where the infinite ether meets your intimate parting words -- be they poetic, overdramatic or borderline deranged.



Wade takes inspiration from texts she's received in dissolving relationships, from rom rom-com ready lines like, "I knew you would do this to me" to more bizarre gems like, "WTF!!! YOU LEFT FOR IBIZA WITHOUT ME" and "ON ZANAX AT THE AIRPORT HAD A PANIC ATTACK PLEASE STOP CALLING ME". She juxtaposes these profound textual snippets with a variety of backdrops -- from solid, bright colors to psychedelic washes to color print test patterns -- each in some way conveying the cold and empirical nature of technologically-assisted communication.



"With the paintings I want the viewer to feel a mixture of feelings but mainly irony," Wade explained to The Huffington Post Arts. "I really want the viewer to discover through humor a universal recognition and the absurdity of how we shield ourselves with technology."

Somewhere between the Platonic ideal of the perfect breakup and the awkward reality that often must suffice, Wade's dry artworks capture the bizarre status of romance in the digital age. Through electric colors and awkward stock imagery, Wade showcases the peculiar state of contemporary romance -- simultaneously made all the more readily available by technology and, in some ways, impossible.

"It's Not You" runs from November 6 to January 10, 2015 at Rick Wester Fine Art in New York. Get a preview of the works below.

What Happens When A Photographer Joins The Circus

October 31, 2014, 5:05 pm

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This post originally appeared on Slate.
By Jordan G. Teicher



Some children dream of running away and joining the circus, Norma I. Quintana dreamed of photographing it.

In 1999, Circus Chimera, a one-ring operation, came to Napa, California, where Quintana lives.* Initially, she thought she’d only photograph the Oklahoma-based group for a few days. But after becoming “totally seduced by the circus world,” she devoted nearly a decade of her life to it.

“If I could drive to see them, I’d spend a couple of nights. I dreamt of having my own trailer, but usually I’d leave when the lights would go down. I did it even when my kids were little. My family thought I’d lost my mind,” she said.

The circus performers were initially hard to photograph because “they immediately act.” It took a while for her to depict the performers more candidly. While Quintana was attracted to the theatrical elements of the circus, the black-and-white photos in her book Circus: A Traveling Life, which was published by Damiani in September, ultimately show the normality of the circus beyond the spectacle—one very much dominated by family life.

“The performers go to the store like everyone else. They do their laundry like everyone else. But for a few hours every day they dress up, put on a lot of makeup, and do these amazing things. One mother would come to the tent with her strollers, do a trapeze act, get her child, and go back to the trailer. That was fascinating for me to see,” she said.

According to the Valley Morning Star, Circus Chimera closed in 2007 after changes in the United States’ temporary work visa program made it impossible for Jim Judkins, the group’s founder, to secure visas for any of his workers, who all came to work seasonally from outside the country.

Quintana photographed the circus until the very end. And while she was sad to see Circus Chimera close, her images don’t possess a mournful or dreary perspective. Many of Quintana’s subjects have stayed in touch with her, and give her regular updates about their jobs with other circuses. Her photos of Circus Chimera, she said, are celebratory, capturing a world that was very much full of life while it was in operation.

“I wanted to provide more of a human side to it—a sense of family and tradition and culture and love of performance.”

See more photos on Slate.

Twitter Reacts To The 1,715 Potential Future Designs For Guggenheim Helsinki

October 31, 2014, 5:05 pm

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This post originally appeared on ArchDaily.
by Rory Stott

#GuggenheimHKI longlist designs are out. Some beauties and some fearful horrors http://t.co/MDOGs8XO5u pic.twitter.com/BXRiW1BAVC

— Rob Fiehn (@Rob_Fiehn) October 22, 2014

The news that every single one of the 1,715 designs for the future Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki have been released via a new competition website was understandably something of a media storm earlier this week. As the largest ever set of proposals to be simultaneously released to the public, how could anyone possibly come to terms with the sheer number and quality of the designs – let alone all the other issues which the proposals shed light on?

In this instance, the answer to that question is simple: get help. Guggenheim Helsinki will arguably go down in history as the prototypical competition for the social media age, not just for releasing the designs to the public but for their platform which enables people to select favorites, and compile and share shortlists. In the days since the website launched, Twitter users have risen to the challenge. See what some of them had to say after the break.

Some critics took the opportunity to criticize the quality of the designs in their totality. Here we have the V&A Museum’s Curator of Contemporary Architecture & Urbanism and the author of Future Practice: Conversations from the Edge of Architecture:

I have seen the future of architecture and it is in poor health http://t.co/vzGnzyXMQh!

— Rory Hyde (@roryhyde) October 22, 2014

And here, the author of The Architecture of Failure:

My LORD the Helsinki Guggenheim entries are inept

— Douglas Murphy (@entschwindet) October 22, 2014

A little more helpfully, many were selecting their favorites from the thousands of entries (though we suspect not all are being entirely sincere):

BOOM. Found one I actually really like. The Guggenheim as a refurbed cargo ship. pic.twitter.com/RutXiKgqE1

— Dr Crystal Bennes (@crystalbennes) October 22, 2014

Wait, I take it all back. This has blown my mind pic.twitter.com/u7TYfFCkSf

— Dave (@DLequeu) October 22, 2014

#submarine entry for #GuggenheimHKI. Speechless. http://t.co/MDOGs8XO5u pic.twitter.com/aWY6bh1xUW

— Rob Fiehn (@Rob_Fiehn) October 22, 2014

This is one of the nicest #guggenheimhelsinki entries I've seen http://t.co/Pq8ha6hX16

— Cate St.Hill (@catesthill) October 22, 2014

Does anyone know why there is a Sumo Wrestler on the roof of this Guggenheim Helsinki design?
#TheOneWithTheSumo pic.twitter.com/FfjGbyqgOS

— Master Prophet (@tomravenscroft) October 22, 2014

Still others were commenting on the sheer amount of wasted work on display. Head of Central Saint Martins School in London Jeremy Till is well-known for his stance on architectural competitions, and used the opportunity to drive his point home:

What if that time, energy, skill and in some cases intelligence of Guggenheim had been turned to something useful? http://t.co/GUpchLSnRI!

— Jeremy Till (@jeremytill) October 22, 2014

As @greentriangleuk notes the Guggenheim process is 0.058% energy efficient. Would any other system do this to itself?

— Jeremy Till (@jeremytill) October 22, 2014

@waitey estimating 400 hours per entry = 342 yrs of a working life. But if the Sumo wins @tom_ravenscroft then it'll be worth it.

— Chris Bryant (@_chrisbryant) October 22, 2014

Some seemed less concerned by the architecture itself and more concerned by the content of the renders produced:

Also, someone's put flamingos in their Guggenheim render! Flamingos. In Helsinki. Riiiiight. pic.twitter.com/hoBF3sZ3tI

— Dr Crystal Bennes (@crystalbennes) October 22, 2014

@skalgubbar is the real winner of #GuggenheimHKI competition.
Their cutout are in almost all the projects
#skalgubbar #architecture #cutout

— archdigestion (@archdigestion) October 23, 2014

Guggenheim Helsinki Competition A.K.A Spot the Jeff Koons #JeffKoons A.K.A. architects only know fads http://t.co/otaBC5C8QA via @archdaily

— SLyons (@sarahalyons) October 23, 2014

And finally, could we really say that the Guggenheim Helsinki Competition was created for social media without the emergence of a lighthearted campaign?

@_chrisbryant @waitey lets start a campaign - #BackTheSumo

— Master Prophet (@tomravenscroft) October 23, 2014

Despite all that’s been said, there’s still plenty to talk about. Join the discussion on twitter, or add to the comments section on our previous article:

See all the entries here.

Twitter Reacts to 1,715 Guggenheim Designs originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on October 26, 2014.

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Now You Can Dive To A Massive Underwater Sculpture Because Art

November 1, 2014, 5:00 am

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The Bahamas are known for pink-sand beaches, insanely cool private islands, pigs that swim and great diving. And near Nassau, we've found a new treasure that's definitely worth diving for -- an artwork that is, according to its creator, the largest single underwater sculpture in the world.

The sculpture, called "Ocean Atlas," is a rendition of a Bahamian girl that measures over 16 feet high and weighs more than 60 tons. Conveniently, "Ocean Atlas" also doubles as an artificial reef for marine animals. Created by British artist and diver Jason DeCaires Taylor, the sculpture sits underwater just off the coast of Nassau.

During low tide, divers will be able to see a mirror reflection of the sculpture in addition to the marine life that will live on "Ocean Atlas." The sculpture is intended to divert divers to artificial reefs (as opposed to natural ones) to prevent further damage of marine habitats.

Take a look!





Previously, Taylor has created sculptures to support sustainable life for the Cancun Underwater Museum and multiple artificial reef-sculpture hybrids. According to his biography, Taylor "founded and created the world's first underwater sculpture park" off the coast of Grenada.

You can see the rest of Jason deCaires Taylor's work on his website or Facebook page.