This Enchanted Bike Path Was Inspired By Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'

November 18, 2014, 7:31 am

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"I can't change the fact that my paintings don't sell," Vincent van Gogh reportedly once said. "But the time will come when people will recognize that they are worth more than the value of the paints used in the picture." It is, of course, a terrible shame van Gogh never lived to see the profound impact his art had on the world at large, forever transforming the way so many of us gaze upon the night sky.



Van Gogh's wildest dreams probably couldn't prepare him, for example, for the Van Gogh-Roosegaarde Bicycle Path, an enchanting living artwork newly unveiled by Studio Roosegaarde. The kilometer-long path is adorned with a special paint that charges during the day and glows after dark. It runs through the Dutch province of Noord Brabant, where van Gogh was born and raised.

The stunning feat, at the intersection of art and technology, mimics the ecstatic energy and swirling movement of van Gogh's original. Each illuminated fleck operates like a brushstroke, adding a small yet crucial element to the whirling, unfathomable whole. "It's a new total system that is self-sufficient and practical, and just incredibly poetic," designer Daan Roosegaarde told Dezeen.

A solar panel close by generates power to illuminate the painted surface. Some LED lights are embedded in the path as well, casting extra light especially in the case of foggy weather. The fairy tale bike path is the second of Roosegaarde's five-part Smart Highways project, which aims to create safe and environmentally friendly road networks. The first manifestation, "Glowing Lines," employed photo-luminescent paint to brighten the edges of the road.

Where art meets science and the past meets the future, Van Gogh-Roosegaarde Bicycle Path offers an illuminating (and illuminated) glimpse into the potential of public spaces. Best of all, the path is open all year round. Somewhere we hope van Gogh is smiling knowingly.

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Why Is TV So Obsessed With Extramarital Relationships?

November 18, 2014, 8:41 am

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As contemporary television goes, the more illicit the sex, the steamier. Cue up the many articles praising TV executives, particularly ones of the Big Four network variety, for allowing their characters to bare so much more than they did in prime-time a decade ago. Alas, a caveat: Now that shows, primarily dramas, have become more salacious, writers are constructing bolder ways to enact carnal pleasure -- and one of the so-called bold moves being employed en masse is the extramarital affair.

In what seems like a recent trend, shows won't settle for a sultry will-they-or-won't-they subplot that revolves around a married man or woman (usually a man) and his or her paramour. Entire series are now built around the idea of infidelity: how sensual the rush of danger is, what it does for the scorned spouse left behind, how long viewers can cheer on a story that invokes the ickiness of adultery.

"The Good Wife," for example, opened in 2009 with the fallout from a sex scandal. Six years and multiple boundary-pushing relationships later, Sunday's episode revved up two fresh assignations: another tryst for Peter (Chris Noth), this time with his new lawyer, as well as a flirtation -- not yet a full-boiled romance, to be clear -- between Alicia (Julianna Margulies) and Finn (Matthew Goode). "The Good Wife" has been rightfully hailed for providing one of the more clear-headed and tactful delineations of a marriage's turbulence, but nonetheless, here we are again, retreading that same territory. If the show weren't as well-written, and Margulies' performance as assured, we'd all say enough is enough.

That's the problem with a show that structures itself around such dalliances. It's not so much a moral issue; it's the fact that we're asked to commit to a show whose very premise folds right out from underneath it. If the solution were just "he'll leave his wife, they'll live happily ever after," we wouldn't have a television program.

Instead, we're on Season 4 of Olivia (Kerry Washington) and Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) breathing heavily in each other's faces and making quivering gestures with their lips while that melancholy score plays. We still feel bad every time Mellie (Bellamy Young) nears the doorway, only to learn that Fitz has placed another late-night call to dear old Olivia Pope. (Surely you read that with the same contempt you'd hear in Mellie's voice as she says Olivia's name. Again, we've made it to Season 4 of this stuff.) Eventually, even if you actually want to see Olivia and Fitz together -- and I'm not sure many people do -- you're forced to pretend the procedural elements on "Scandal" matter as much as the series' core conflict, because they're the only ones with imminent conclusions. The show's true premise may never come to fruition, no matter how many lavish homes the president promises Olivia.

If "The Good Wife" and "Scandal" laid much of that foundation (bolstered by their political tableaux), "The Affair" is a descendent unto its own. The Showtime drama, currently halfway through its first season, is built around a married man who carries on a tentative liaison with a waitress while he and his family spend the summer in a tiny beachside town. The show tells the story responsibly: Its dual-perspective structure (à la "True Detective" and "Gone Girl" -- two other tales that featured extramarital relations this year) offers an entryway that's more about the psyches of two vulnerable individuals than it is the actual sex they have. But not only is the show sluggish at times; it's also grounded in a conflict that's inherently alienating. We can chart Season 1's moves from the first furtive glance Noah (Dominic West) and Alison (Ruth Wilson) lay upon each other, and along the way we're left fretting for Noah's unsuspecting wife (Maura Tierney). It's a show that thinks its stakes are high -- and, with infidelity, they should be -- but for viewers, they are often incredibly low.

"How to Get Away with Murder" features at least three affairs: Sam (Tom Verica) and Lila (Megan West), Annalise (Viola Davis) and Nate (Billy Brown), and now Frank (Charlie Weber) and Laurel (Karla Souza). That's to say nothing of another ABC series, the summer soap "Mistresses," which stars the likes of Alyssa Milano and Yunjin Kim. Everything you need to know is in the title. It was renewed for a third season in September, despite tepid reviews.

Affairs obviously have a fierce emotional cost for all involved, and these series are usually acute in the various paradigms from which they depict adultery. The struggle of sustaining a marriage and the temptations that can come with long-term commitment are ripe for television fodder. But when this many popular TV dramas revolve around a singular subject -- "Homeland," "The Newsroom" and "Grey's Anatomy" have also featured prominent affairs, not to mention the revolving door that is Don Draper's bedroom on "Mad Men" -- it becomes a trope, and an exhausting one at that. We've crossed over from truth-telling to what feels like a device, as if it's an inevitability that every relationship encounters. That means some of the acuteness is beginning to vanish. After these often brilliant shows play out, let's dim the blinding spotlight on extramarital romps before it all becomes too tiresome.

Kate Hudson Would Love To Work With Matthew McConaughey Again

November 18, 2014, 8:46 am

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When you think of epic movie pairs from the last 15 years, it's hard not to think of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. The duo stole audience's hearts as Andie and Ben in the 2003 rom-com "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and eventually reunited onscreen in 2008's "Fool's Gold." But are they thinking about co-starring once again?

According to Hudson, yes.

"I’d love to work with [McConaughey] again at some point," Hudson, 35, told HuffPost Entertainment. "I spend a lot of time with him and I love him and his family dearly."

Hudson is currently promoting her new partnership with "FarmVille 2: Country Escape" and Hudson-Bellamy Wines. (The game has a new avatar modeled off the actress, who, along with fiancé and Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy, produces Hudson-Bellamy Wines, which is also making its big debut.)



As for her family, Hudson says they're doing well. She and Bellamy have been engaged since 2011 and have a son together, Bingham, 3. Hudson also has a 10-year-old son with her ex-husband, Chris Robinson.

"We do all kinds of stuff, we go on hikes, we like to bike," she said of family activities. "But kids are constantly active. I have to stop my kids from jumping on the furniture! Its more about what we do out in nature, so we like to get outside and do more activities."

Hudson also makes sure they all take the time to unplug and recharge.

"I like to go to our farm in Devon and read," she said. "We are literally off the grid in Devon, so it's an oasis animal farm, it's one of my favorite places to check out."

Find out more about Kate Hudson's collaboration with "FarmVille 2: Country Escape" and Hudson-Bellamy Wines.

When Did the Art World Get So Conservative?

November 18, 2014, 9:19 am

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First and foremost, the art world is a place that says it wants people to be free. This extraordinary openness is what gives art its ever-changing adaptable agency. Or gave.
Flexibility is life, but lately I keep thinking that the art world has gotten a lot less flexible, and the freedom that I've always thought of as completely foundational — freedom to let our freak flags fly and express ourselves, even bizarrely — has constricted considerably. And it’s happening at such mutated and extreme rates that we must ask if the art world is not now one of the more self-policing areas of contemporary culture. How did we come to live in an insular tribal sphere where unwritten rules and rigid moralities — about whom to like and dislike, what is permissible to say and what must remain unsaid — are strictly enforced via social media and online disapproval, much of it anonymous? When did this band of gypsies and relentless radicals get so conservative?

Author's 'Regret' Doesn't Want To Break Your Heart, But It Just Might

November 18, 2014, 11:47 am

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Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, the last we heard from Author -- Trevor Bartlett (vocals/guitar), Cameron Bartlett (drums/vocals), Nate Washburn (bass) and Erik Moody (guitar) -- was their one-off track "To Dream." Stating that they were hard at work in the studio, the band is finally ready to roll out their debut album, "Of Brighter Days." The Huffington Post is pleased to premiere the group's first single, "Regret."



“‘Regret’ is a little bit more like the EP," Trevor Bartlett told HuffPost Entertainment. "There’s two songs on the record, ‘Regret’ being one of them, that I wrote about a year and a half ago. But there’s a lot of variance on the record, and overall it is very ambient. I think the album bumps -- we use the term bump a lot -- much harder than the EP. Dynamically, it gets big and loud. It turned out to be a really emotional record and dynamically, from beginning to end, we wanted it to be able to tell a story. Through imagery in the album artwork and through the songs and lyrics, it tells a pretty clear story."

Releasing the single with a video by Levi Mlinar, Bartlett explained, "The visuals in the video are all based on concept photos throughout the albums artwork. They are all in different segments of the projection videos at the listening party as well. We wanted through the art of this record to try and emote the best we can through simple hand gestures."

Album opener “Fiction” kicks things off with a few piano chords before some quick picking and snare rolls turn on the jets. It's a different gait for the band, but it suits them well. "Wander" demonstrates the band's impeccable ability to layer without overwhelming, pairing infectious vocal harmonies with off-time claps. Washburn really drives the band on this track, taking lead just after the two-minute mark with a groovy progression, a few wobbles coming in at the end. Elements of tracks like "Regret," "Brighter" and "Clouds" will remind listeners of their earlier work, and proves that the fingerprint of former producer Aaron Marsh has not been totally dusted off. The piano-led "Find the Words" closes the album with a gripping, disarming confession, Bartlett letting out one last conclusion that will undoubtedly leave listeners in tears: "I'm sorry that I cannot tell you what's rotting in me, it's hollowing me."

“The whole record plays like a relationship, like between you and a loved one," Bartlett said. "In the beginning it’s more playful and new, and then it gets into this uncertainty and then moves towards kind of a resolve. It took us a while to come up with the title, but ‘Of Brighter Days’ is basically saying we’re not sugarcoating reality and life, but, in the same sense, life isn’t all awful.”

"Of Brighter Days" hurts just as tenderly as it embraces you, but such is the unavoidable reality of intimacy. Extremely well-paced, the album's order leaves no room for hiccups, making listening from start to finish mandatory. Listeners will get vibes of bands like Mutemath, Minus The Bear, Mew, Copeland and Circa Survive throughout the record, and while Author's debut has begun to etch out a sound that is their own, it's the band's heart that will be what remains.

"Of Brighter Days" will be released digitally on Jan. 6, 2015. For those in the Atlanta area, the band is having an album listening party and art show Nov. 18 at 9:00 p.m.

Check out the tracklist for "Of Brighter Days":
1. Fiction
2. Forget
3. Regret
4. Wander
5. Extraordinary
6. Brighter
7. Clouds
8. Shadows
9. Find the Words



Before The Beat Drops is an artist introduction series dedicated to bringing you the rising acts before they make their break. Our unlimited access to music of all kinds is both amazing and overwhelming. Keeping your playlists fresh, we'll be doing the leg work to help you discover your next favorite artist.

Art Project Honors The 46 Million Turkeys That Will Be Eaten On Thanksgiving

November 18, 2014, 12:18 pm

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An estimated 46 million turkeys will be eaten this Thanksgiving, and artist Cheryl Miller wants to honor every last one of them with their own portraits.

"Forty-six million is a huge number and one that is hard to visualize, whether we’re talking about individual works of art or birds," she says of her 46 Million Turkeys project. "I didn’t want to represent the turkeys in an abstract way or with objects such as beans, grains of rice, etc. I wanted to put a face on each bird, emphasizing that each bird is an individual."

(Story continues below.)
One of Miller's turkey portraits. (Image credit: Cheryl Miller)

Miller says she's been "absolutely smitten" with turkeys -- as living animals, not as a holiday meal -- since 1998, when she spent six months volunteering at Farm Sanctuary, an upstate New York-based organization that cares for about 1,000 turkeys, pigs, chickens, cows and other animals usually treated as livestock.

The sanctuary's affectionate gobblers "would waddle over to be stroked on the head and under their wings," she says. "The very first time a hen let me gently rub her naked, nubby head, I was surprised at the softness of her skin, and it wasn’t hard to recognize contentment when she sat down, closed her eyes and basked in the pleasure of a gentle touch from a human."

Post by Farm Sanctuary.

It's been 15 years since her time on Farm Sanctuary, and Miller now lives in Maine with her two rescue cats. But she's been painting her own turkey portraits every Thanksgiving since then.

Last year, she started the 46 Million Turkeys project, asking others to contribute too. She received submissions of turkey art from around the world and featured them in an exhibition at a gallery in Maine.

Miller made this piece, titled "The Girls," in 2013. (Image credit: Cheryl Miller)

The catalog of submissions from 2013 includes drawings, paintings, pottery pieces, clay sculptures, collages, linoleum block prints, jewelry, glitter glue pieces, origami, block stamps, a few "traced hand" turkeys and an awesome series of turkey mug shots.

The "Turkeytrot Gang" series of 11 2x2 painted mugshots, by Robert Alan Holmes. (Image credit: Cheryl Miller)

Miller is pleased that the submissions are all so different. She feels this reflects the turkeys themselves.

"I wish everyone could spend some time with turkeys and other animals who are raised solely for food. Most people would be surprised to learn that these animals are unique individuals with amazing personalities who are capable of forming bonds with humans," Miller says.

The project is ongoing, and Miller is up to some 3 million turkeys now, some of which she'll be showing over the holiday season at Evolve, a vegetarian restaurant in the nation's capital.

In addition, vegan clothes company Vaute is offering a T-shirt featuring one of Miller's turkey paintings. Sales will benefit a Maine-based animal sanctuary called Peace Ridge.

Miller hopes the 46 Million Turkeys exhibit continues to grow and will be shown in a new city each year, until enough people have changed their minds about these birds that the whole enterprise won't be needed any longer. She can then turn her full attention to other misunderstood members of the animal kingdom.

"I plan to launch another community participatory project about rats," she says. "Stay tuned!"

Find out more about the 46 Million Turkeys project on the group's Facebook page. Here are instructions for how to submit your own turkey art.

Post by 46millionturkeys.

Get in touch at arin.greenwood@huffingtonpost.com if you have an animal story to share!

'Genderqueer: And Other Gender Identities,' Dave Naz Book, Explores The Gender Spectrum

November 18, 2014, 12:40 pm

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A compelling new book showcases the faces of individuals identifying across the trans, genderqueer and gender nonconforming spectrum.

From photographer Dave Naz comes Genderqueer: And Other Gender Identities, a photo and essay book that he hopes will contribute to the emerging global conversation surrounding gender identity and the human condition, as well as show that not all individuals fit into the boxes society deems "correct."



The Huffington Post chatted with Naz this week about Genderqueer: And Other Gender Identities, his goals for this project and what readers can expect from the book.

The Huffington Post: Why did you decide this book was important?
Dave Naz: I went into the project photographing subjects that I felt had beauty that defied gender. This all started with Drew DeVeaux, Jiz Lee and Syd Blakovich. They also have great style, which makes for great images. Once I started started meeting people within this small community and hearing their stories, the idea for the book started to take shape. I think it's important to put it out there and see if something clicks with the reader.



What are you trying to accomplish with this book?
I hope this book adds to the discussion about trans, gender-fluid and genderqueer individuals, as well as others who don't identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.

Who contributed to make this book a reality?
Morty Diamond, Jiz Lee, Jenny Factor, Ignacio Rivera and Sarah Burghauser all wrote powerful essays about their lives. Those essays make up the book, along with the people who trusted me to photograph them. To make a book of this kind you have to have a unique publisher. Rare Bird / Barnacle believed in this project and made a beautiful book out of it.



What do you hope people will take away from this project?
I want people to take away that it's ok to be who you want to be and to be tolerant and understanding of others and how they present themselves. When I started this project five years ago, I had never heard the terms genderqueer, gender-fluid or gender-neutral. I hope others can learn from this book, as I did while I was making it.

Here here to learn more about Genderqueer: And Other Gender Identities. Naz's exhibit "Identity" will also be at Coagual Curatorial Gallery in Chinatown, Los Angeles until Dec 20th.

Jonathan Payne's 'Fleshlette' Sculptures Are So Disgusting You Can't Look Away

November 19, 2014, 8:48 am

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Artist Jonathan Payne mixes body parts like a mad scientist. His grotesqueries -- and we mean that in a good way! -- fuse genitals, breasts, fingers, teeth, tongues and more into horrific mutations that look absolutely real. He calls them "Fleshlettes."

"The human body is familiar and beautiful and yet also wonderfully bizarre," Payne told The Huffington Post "Fleshlettes are a way for me to re-examine our unique qualities from a new and unfamiliar angle."

The sculptures are made from polymer clay, acrylics and hair, but we'll understand if your imagination wanders to a more sinister conclusion.









You can check out more of Payne's work here.

H/T Beautiful/Decay

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Here's How Tywin Lannister Will Appear In 'Game Of Thrones' Season 5

November 19, 2014, 8:56 am

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Spoilers are coming ...

Last season of "Game of Thrones" had us thinking we'd finally seen the last of Tywin Lannister, until actor Charles Dance teased a possible comeback.

It was widely speculated that if a return engagement did occur, it would happen in a flashback scene -- possibly involving a young Cersei and Maggy the Frog -- but it appears that isn't the case.

In George R.R. Martin's books, Tywin's body is discovered in the Tower of the Hand and then displayed in the Great Sept, and that seems to be what's in store for Dance. On how he would return, Dance told The Daily Beast, “Well, only my body!” He continued, “I don’t wake up in the shower having had a dream about it all.”

Fans shouldn't be too disappointed though. Dance also said that there's "talk" of doing a "Game of Thrones" movie, but he didn't know which story lines it would cover.

It's been previously reported that a possible "GoT" movie could wrap the series up or even be based on Martin's "Dunk and Egg" stories. If it were the latter, fans may get to see Tywin Lannister return to his full glory after all. (Sorry, Tyrion.)



For more, head over to The Daily Beast.

Ohio State Marching Band Asked To Change Harmful Traditions

November 19, 2014, 9:36 am

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An "undercurrent of inappropriate behavior" inside Ohio State University's celebrated marching band was fueled by a combination of societal pressures faced by students, unclear expectations set by band leaders and ineffective university oversight, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report was the result of a four-month review by a task force enlisted by the university in the wake of the controversial firing of band director Jonathan Waters over the summer.

Its investigation concluded the band's culture of excellence, hard work and positive traditions remains strong, while making 37 recommendations for improvements.

Former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery, who led the task force, said it recognized that band members are "newly-minted adults" on a college campus caught in the crosshairs of conflicting societal messages.

"While universities and the law have ramped up expectations regarding student behavior in the wake of hazing and sexual assaults across the country, popular culture seems to be going exactly the opposite way, moving in the opposite direction," Montgomery said. "And that collision is where this band is."

Her group's 92-page report, compiled after interviews with 185 individuals, including present and former band members, described hazing rituals and frequent alcohol use that were also cited in an internal investigative report from earlier this year that led to Waters' firing.

Among its recommendations were hiring a compliance officer; rewriting and clarifying certain band policies involving traditions; and instituting regular mandatory training.

Others include a ban on rookie tricks, rookie midterms and an explicit songbook, all of which had been cited in the investigation report that led to Director Waters' July 24 firing.

But Montgomery said during a news conference that the task force also recommended allowing many traditions to stand, with new safeguards to assure traditions like nicknames and humorous videos don't cross the line.

"We knew when we started that there were traditions that were vestigial," she said. "And we often told the students when we interviewed them, `Look, there are so many wonderful traditions in this band, we want to make certain that we're engaged in outpatient surgery and not engaged in a massive operation that somehow destroys the culture of the band.'"

University President Michael Drake enlisted Montgomery's help in August as a follow-up to the school's own probe, which concluded Waters knew about, but failed to stop, a "sexualized culture" of rituals inside the band. The culture was deemed hostile to students.

Waters, whose halftime shows were considered revolutionary, has challenged the report's conclusions. He also sued for reinstatement in federal court on grounds he was discriminated against and denied a public name-clearing hearing.

Waters' attorney, David Axelrod, said he was gratified that Montgomery identified weaknesses in university oversight of the band. He said many of the changes recommended in the report were things Waters was already implementing at the time of his firing

Gary Leppla, legal counsel to the TBDBITL Alumni Club, named for the band known to fans as The Best Damn Band in The Land, attended the event but was not admitted to Montgomery's news conference.

Afterward, he dismissed as "silly" allusions to his organization trying to interfere with the investigation. The report said the group advised alumni against participating in a survey they viewed as slanted and provided "talking points" for interviews.

"It's about the truth," Leppla said. "And nobody's alleging anything that was distributed or encouraged or shared by this club that got aggressive in defending the band was anything but the truth."

He said he's like to see band backers and the university move forward to a place of healing.

University spokesman Chris Davey said the school has already begun to take steps to improve band oversight, add training requirements and strengthen leadership.

"We take the report's conclusions very seriously, and the university will review the recommendations and take action," he said. "We will continue to make whatever changes are necessary to university oversight to ensure that the unacceptable cultural problems detailed in this report are simply not part of the future of our great band."

The Hound's 'Game Of Thrones' Audition Tape Is Even More Intense Than You'd Think

November 19, 2014, 9:37 am

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Rory McCann became The Hound the minute he sat down for his "Game of Thrones" audition. In a video uploaded to YouTube in 2012 -- one which appears to be a hidden dragon egg from the Season 1 Blu Ray release -- the actor captures his character's harsh but delicate nature right from the get-go with a speech about the origins of his famous scar. The Hound may lack armor in the audition clip, but he comes across as powerful as in any polished episode (especially in one particularly arresting moment around the one-minute mark).

McCann spoke to Rolling Stone in April about his experience auditioning for Sandor "The Hound" Clegane:

I think I really only got the part because my sister fucked up. She was supposed to print out what I was meant to learn for the audition speech, but she sent me the wrong one -- only two or three lines, that was it. I was waiting in this heat wave in London at the casting director's place, and I see everyone reading this big speech for the Hound about how he got his face burned. I had to delay my meeting for four hours so I could learn it. By that time, I was fucking raging. When I walked into the room, I knew I had to go crazy, so I unleashed all this. It was just a fluke that day -- I was just especially angry. [Laughs] Something worked.

10 Memorable 'SpongeBob' Quotes That'll Make You Wish You Lived In Bikini Bottom

November 19, 2014, 9:40 am

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Are you ready, kids?

He's absorbent. He's yellow. And 10 years ago, his first big movie premiered in theaters. Since bringing his nautical nonsense into our lives in 1999 on Nickelodeon, SpongeBob SquarePants has gone on to become a worldwide phenomenon. The series, which is still running today, has turned a little pants-wearing sponge into a billion dollar industry, launching video games, merchandise and eventually "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" on Nov. 19, 2004.

Now, a decade later, the franchise is gearing up for a follow up in "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water," which premieres early next year. The new movie is set to take SpongeBob out of the sea and into the human world. Though, with the Krusty Krab, a pineapple house and more underwater adventure than you can imagine, you might wonder why he would ever want to leave.

In honor of the 10-year anniversary of the "SpongeBob" movie, here are 10 quotes that'll make you wish you lived in Bikini Bottom.


1. "No, this is Patrick."


Image: YouTube



2. "I'm ready!"


Image: YouTube



3. "Am I a pretty girl?"


Image: YouTube



4. "Wumbo."


Image: YouTube


5. "I like money."


Image: YouTube


6. "Soiled it!"


Image: YouTube


7. "Evil!"


Image: YouTube


8. "Is mayonnaise an instrument?"


Image: YouTube


9. "He's gonna kick my butt."


Image: YouTube


10. "Nyeah, Squidward?"


Image: YouTube

What's your favorite "SpongeBob" quote?

Wu-Tang Clan Release 'Necklace' Off 'A Better Tomorrow'

November 19, 2014, 9:54 am

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Wu-Tang Clan released "Necklace," the latest track off their new album, "A Better Tomorrow," on Wednesday. Following "Ruckus in B Minor," "Ron O'Neal" and "Keep Watch," it's quite literally about jewelry -- Raekwon rhymes expertly about his 40-inch chain -- features gun shots and samples old movie vocals. "A Better Tomorrow" is due out Dec. 2.

What BuzzFeed Would Look Like If It Only Featured One Baby Named Ben

November 19, 2014, 10:15 am

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Parents have a lot of creative ways to document their babies' growth over time, but this modern mom's tumblr is truly buzzworthy.

Mom Jen Hershberger grew up in the U.S. but is currently stationed in Germany with her military husband. So, her 6-month-old son Ben hasn't met all of his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, she told The Huffington Post in an email. The mom turned to the digital realm to introduce her baby boy to his extended family and share updates about his life. She created BenFeed, a tumblr parody of Buzzfeed where she posts monthly photos of Ben on a quilt designed to look like an article from the popular website.



After photographing Ben on the quilt, Hershberger uses her computer to add a headline and article text about Ben's life and growth. The topics range from "Ben On Instagram Vs. Ben In Reality" to "5 Signs From Your First 2 Weeks on Earth That Prove You're in Store for a Fantastic Life." She said she drew inspiration for BenFeed from the large amount of time she spends "beached on a couch feeding my son" while "reading the entire catalogue of websites like HuffPost and BuzzFeed" -- the listicle model was a unique way to share her baby boy with loved ones back in the U.S.

"By being more than a static photograph of chubby cheeks and offering little snippets into the highlights and drudgery of our lives, it’s my hope that these posts help our family feel connected and involved in our lives," Hershberger said. The creative mom added that she also documented her now 3-year-old daughter's growth as a baby with a quilt made too look like a piece of loose-leaf paper.

Living so far away from home can be difficult for her family, but Hershberger said she cherishes projects like "BenFeed," which allow them to have some fun together. "Things have been rough at times, I can certainly guarantee that we will have rough times ahead, but I’ll deal with it and hopefully will find some laughs along the way."

Below are our favorite BenFeed headlines and some of the photo-filled listicles that accompany them.



H/T Buzzfeed

Read more on HuffPost Parents:
If We Let Pictures Do All The Talking
27 Breathtaking Photos Of Adoptive Families Uniting
20 Baby Names Headed For Major Popularity



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Superheroes Strike A Pose For 16th Century Flemish Paintings

November 19, 2014, 10:42 am

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French photographer Sacha Goldberger is giving superheroes the power to travel back in time -- and into would-be masterpieces.

In his "Super Flemish" series, Goldberger imagines icons such as Superman, Batman and Iron Man as if they were posing for Flemish paintings centuries ago.



"What if Superman was born in the sixteenth century? And what if the Hulk was a Duke?" the photographer asks on his website, noting that recreating old Flemish lighting and techniques illustrates the "nobility and fragility of the super powerful."



"These images allow us to discover, under the patina of time, an unexpected melancholy of those who are to be invincible.”

The series has now been featured in outlets like Mashable and Laughing Squid, prompting Goldberger to feel his own power.

"I never imagined I would have so much success," he told The Huffington Post. "This is crazy. The positive thing is that it will give me the means to even more ambitious pictures."

While not a typical superhero, Yoda also made it into the series along with other "Star Wars" characters. Yoda sure can rock a ruff, can't he?






Check out Goldberger's other "Super Flemish" works here.

H/T Design Taxi

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Bill Cosby's New NBC Show Is No Longer In Development

November 19, 2014, 11:09 am

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NBC has confirmed to HuffPost Entertainment that a planned sitcom project with Bill Cosby is no longer in development. The network had no further comment on the matter. A representative for Cosby was not immediately available for comment.

NBC's move comes in the wake of sexual assault allegations that have been levied against the 77-year-old comedian during the last month. Earlier on Wednesday, Netflix also postponed the release of Cosby's new stand-up special, "Bill Cosby 77."

Plans for Cosby's potential new NBC series were first announced in January of this year. As Deadline.com reported at the time, the show's focus would be Cosby, who was set to star as "the patriarch of a multi-generational family."

In July at the Television Critics Association press tour, NBC entertainment president Jennifer Salke elaborated on the show's planned plot: "Bill plays the patriarch of the family, dispensing his classic wisdom on relationships and parenthood, with three daughters, husbands, and grandchildren." In August, it was confirmed that Cosby and NBC had a deal for a show in place, and that the finished product would likely air in the summer or fall of 2015. Despite the deal, sources told HuffPost Entertainment that NBC never gave an official go-ahead to the series and that the network was waiting on script delivery. The show was created by Mike Sikowitz and Mike O'Malley.

Cosby has kept a low profile in the wake of renewed sexual assault claims from various women. Talk-show appearances he had previously scheduled with Queen Latifah and David Letterman were canceled in the last three weeks. Cosby did appear on NPR's Weekend Edition on Saturday, but remained silent when asked about the allegations. A lawyer representing Cosby later released a statement on the comic's website:

Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment. He would like to thank all his fans for the outpouring of support and assure them that, at age 77, he is doing his best work. There will be no further statement from Mr. Cosby or any of his representatives." - John P. Schmitt, lawyer for Bill Cosby

That post was later deleted and replaced with a new statement, which referenced a civil suit Cosby settled in 2006 with one of his accusers:

Joint statement from Dolores Troiani, counsel to Andrea Constand, and John P. Schmitt, counsel to Bill Cosby.

The statement released by Mr. Cosby’s attorney over the weekend was not intended to refer in any way to Andrea Constand. As previously reported, differences between Mr. Cosby and Ms. Constand were resolved to the mutual satisfaction of Mr. Cosby and Ms. Constand years ago. Neither Mr. Cosby nor Ms. Constand intends to comment further on the matter.

On Tuesday, model Janice Dickinson made claims that Cosby had "sexually assaulted" her in 1982. Cosby's lawyer, Marty Singer, told NBC News that Dickinson's assertions were "a complete lie."

While the NBC show is done, Cosby's stand-up career has not been affected. TMZ reported that a Cosby show in Melbourne, Florida set for Friday will go on as planned.

Dreamlike 'Treasure Island' Park Would Sit On Top Of New York City's Hudson River

November 19, 2014, 11:10 am

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New York City's West Side could be getting a lot more whimsical if plans succeed for an imaginative new park.

The Hudson River Park Trust this week announced plans to build an elevated public park and performance space atop a cluster of columns off the shore of the Hudson River. Dubbed "Pier 55," the project would replace the dilapidated Pier 54 near 14th Street.

Described by one official as a "Treasure Island," the proposed space would be an "undulating" landscape. Its 2.7 acres of "lush lawns and pathways" would be built at heights ranging from 15 to 71 feet above the Hudson's surface. Project representative Caren Browning told The Huffington Post the structure would cost an estimated $130 million, $113 million of which would be donated by billionaire business mogul Barry Diller and his wife, fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg. The City of New York would contribute the remaining $17 million. Additionally, New York State would provide $18 million for the construction of a nearby public esplanade.

“Pier 55 will bring a ‘Treasure Island’ to New York's waterfront, providing a neighborhood amenity, regional resource, and citywide destination for recreation, great views, and inspiring outdoor cultural offerings,” Adrian Benepe, senior vice president and director for City Park Development at the Trust for Public Land, said in a statement. “The Diller-von Furstenberg family’s gift for this park project is the largest for any park in the city’s history, and an affirmation of the need to keep building great parks for a growing city.”

The trust and the Diller-von Furstenberg family enlisted British designer Thomas Heatherwick, whose studio designed London's Olympic Cauldron for the 2012 Olympic Games, and landscape architect Mathews Nielsen to head up the design of Pier 55.

Construction of the park -- pending approval of the trust's board of directors -- is tentatively slated for 2016. The New York Times reports that the Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Environmental Conservation have to give it the nod, as well. Until then, feast your eyes on mock-ups of the project, below:



H/T Dezeen

'Matt Shepard Is A Friend of Mine' Takes An Intimate Look At Historic Figure

November 19, 2014, 11:41 am

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For the first time the story of Matthew Shepard is being told through the lens of a dear friend with an intimate perspective on the life of the hate crime victim.

On Oct. 12, 1998, Matthew Shepard died after succumbing to his wounds from a vicious anti-gay hate crime. In the years since his death, Shepard has become a symbol of the gay rights movement and his murder is symbolic of the countless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people who experience violence and death at the hands of anti-queer individuals.

Now, Michele Josue, a close friend of Shepard's, has produced a film called "Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine" that takes an intimate look at the life and legacy of Shepard and his family.

"I was 19 when Matt died and his loss was devastating for me," Josue said in a statement. "It’s a hard thing to understand, but as his story became an international news event, my heartbreak and sense of loss only grew as my friend Matt was replaced by 'Matthew Shepard,' a historic figure and icon that will forever be associated with unspeakable violence and hate. And as the media stripped my friend of his humanity, I made a promise to myself that when I was emotionally and artistically ready, I would share, with the world, who Matt really was -- in the only way I knew how, through film."

"Matt Shepard is a friend of Mine" is slated to be released theatrically in Feb. 2015 and will screen in New York City on Nov. 20. Head here for more information.

This Lemon-Slicing Pro Is A Real-Life Fruit Ninja

November 19, 2014, 11:46 am

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When life gives you lemons, slice them in half as fast as you can.

Meet the man who qualifies as a real-life fruit ninja. Wielding a super-sharp knife, this guy tears through a giant pile of citrus fruits, tossing up one after another and halving them in the blink of an eye.

If you've ever played "Fruit Ninja" on your smartphone, you're probably in awe of his skills. You're also probably wondering what's next for all these fresh-cut fruits. The video says that they're all lemons, but some of them look a little too big (and a little too green) if you ask us.

Whatever they are, you could probably have one heck of a citrus cocktail party once they're all chopped.

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Vinyl Sales Continue To Surge Worldwide Following Seemingly Impending Death

November 19, 2014, 11:53 am

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While debates surrounding music streaming services, online downloads, physical purchases and torrents have been raging the past couple years, vinyl has been making a comeback in a big way. Avoiding what seemed like an imminent demise, vinyl purchases have increased more than sixfold from 2005 to 2013 in the United States, jumping from less than a million LPs purchased to 6.1 million according to data put together by Statista. In the UK and Germany, vinyl sales are at their highest since the late '90s, resulting in $218 million global vinyl sales in 2013. Take a look at the chart by Statista, which demonstrates worldwide vinyl sales from 1997 to 2013.



Whether it is because of people resisting the commoditization of music by streaming services, the realization that most LPs come with a digital download as well or the general passion of audiophiles and hipsters alike, vinyls are on the rise and will most likely continue their surge through the rest of 2014 and 2015.