"It must be nice to feel so safe you have to invent new ways to put yourself in danger,"

That's how Rudy Fransisco describes the frustration of being black and constantly at risk in his poem "Adrenaline Rush." Fransisco, who performed the poem last month at a Button Poetry Live event, explains how people of color don't have to look far to know how it feels to live in danger. 

"Being black is one of the most extreme sports in America," he said. "We don't need to invent new ways of risking our lives the old ones have been working for decades." 

In the poem, Fransisco recounts the first time an officer pulled him over when he was just 18-years-old.

"He asks for my license, registration, wants to know what I'm doing in this neighborhood, if the car is stolen, if I have any drugs," Fransisco says repeating the officer's line of questioning.

Fransisco describes the sensation of fear, risk and danger of his experience with the officer before he delivers the final mic drop of the performance.

"I have an adrenaline rush every time a police officer drives past without pulling me over." 

Well said sir.

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Your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and what do you do? If you're anything like the subject of this photo shoot, you live it up -- you've got nowhere else to be. We hope we would be so graceful and stylish under pressure. 

Dubai-based photographer Sherif Mokbel created the below scenario for one of his recent photo series, aptly titled "Marooned." In the series Mokbel staged a photo shoot with model Paulina Wielińska about an hour outside of Wroclow, Poland, where she played the part of a stranded driver. Mokbel told The Huffington Post he loves the "vintage style" portrayed in the shoot and that "classic never dies." He also said, "I was traveling to Poland for other shoots. I fell in love with their dirt roads that traveled across those fields, something we don’t have here in Dubai where I live."

In order to make use of Poland's beautiful countryside, Mokbel came up with the idea for a "stylish vintage-looking girl whose car broke down" and worked in the juxtaposition of having the model seem not to care about her situation by having her do mundane things, such as changing her clothing, putting on makeup, smoking and drinking.

Check out Mokbel's amazing work, replete with cinemagraphs, in the photos below.

Check out more of Sherif Mokbel's cinemagraph work here!

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In the Indian temple town of Nathdwara, which translates as "The Gates of the Lord," followers of the Hindu Pushtimarg sect venerate an image of the god Krishna as a 7-year-old child. Founded in the 16th century, the denomination is little known, even within India. But its rich aesthetic traditions have captured the imagination of scholars and curators around the world.

"Gates of the Lord," an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, brings these traditions alive with elaborate paintings and textile hangings that depict Krishna's younger incarnation, known as Shrinathji.

Madhuvanti Ghose, the show's curator, noted the "cloistered" nature and "private devotions" of the Pushtimarg sect. "Even today, phones and cameras are not allowed within the precincts of its main temple at Nathdwara," Ghose said in a press release. "Thus, outside of the sect, there is little appreciation of its unique traditions that have been strictly preserved and elaborated upon since the 16th century.”

The exhibition includes drawings, pichvais (textile wall hangings), paintings and historic photographs. The show runs through Jan. 3, 2016.

“This is a chance to showcase this very special artistic tradition to our audiences in the United States," Ghose said in the release. "Nathdwara and its artists are renowned for having preserved painting traditions in an unbroken legacy for more than four centuries. The exhibition provides us with an opportunity to celebrate these living traditional artists who have gone unrecognized for too long.”

See a sampling from the "Gates of the Lord" exhibition below. All captions are taken from the "Gates of the Lord" catalog and written by curator Madhuvanti Ghose.

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First Lady Michelle Obama hosted an event on Monday honoring some of the best performing arts students from around the country, inviting some special celebrity guests to hold panels and workshops for the students.

"We always think that there’s a good reason to invite a bunch of talented young people to the White House to make sure they know how special they are. The President and I and everyone on this stage, we know how extraordinary you guys are," she told the students. "And these folks are here today to honor you and to hopefully inspire you. They’re also here with an important message for you about what it takes to succeed, not just on Broadway, but in life."

Obama also showed off some of her dance moves with singer Gloria Estefan and choreographer Sergio Trujillo, who taught one of the workshops.

Actors Kristin Chenoweth, Matthew Morrison and Whoopi Goldberg, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and Broadway legends Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Schwartz also joined the festivities.

At the event, called "Broadway at the White House," the students got to learn about various aspects of musical theater, including acting, composing, dancing, costume design and, of course, singing, which Obama joked is "something I know nothing about."

The day began on a somber note, with Obama acknowledging Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris and holding a moment of silence to honor the victims.

"Our thoughts and prayers of course are very much with the victims, their families, and all of the people of France. And we will continue to keep them in our hearts in the days ahead," she said. "As my husband said on Friday, this was an attack not just on France, our dear friend and ally, but on all of humanity and our shared values. And as we mourn, we know that we must continue to show the strength of those values and hopes that the President spoke about when he talked. And the beauty is that all of you here, our young people that are here, you all reflect that passion, that creativity. You all are a part of those values that the President talked about. That’s what we’re protecting. We’re protecting what you all represent."

According to the White House, the event will be part of a TV special, "Broadway at the White House," airing on TLC on Thanksgiving.

You can see more photos of the event below.

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Aga Khan is no stranger to Harvard. But 60 years ago when he walked the crisscrossed paths of the university’s gated Yard between brick buildings as a young student, he wasn’t yet the spiritual leader of a religious community -- and the world was a much different place.

On Thursday when he returned to the university to give the Jodidi Lecture on “The Cosmopolitan Ethic in a Fragmented World,” he returned as the leader of approximately 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims.

He spoke of “endemic poverty,” of the poverty “manifested in … persistent refugee crises” and of the power of pluralism amid globalization. Differences between civilizations, he said, need not be reasons for discord if we take the time to understand and appreciate the value they offer.

The prominent Muslim leader traces his lineage back to the Prophet Muhammad, and during his junior year at the Ivy League university became the 49th hereditary imam of the subsect of Shias scattered across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and North America. He told a packed audience on Thursday that he rejects the age-old notion of a “clash of civilizations” between Islam and the West, instead arguing that many of the struggles humanity faces today stem more from “a clash of ignorances” and an inability to recognize that diversity can often be “an opportunity” rather than “a burden” for societies.

“It is perhaps in our nature to see life as a series of choices between sharply defined dualities -- but in fact, life is more often a matter of avoiding false dichotomies, which can lead to dangerous extremes,” the Aga Khan said. “The truth of the matter is that we can address the dysfunctions of fragmentation without obscuring the values of diversity. … The road to a more cooperative world does not require us to erase our differences, but to understand them.”

With Friday’s attacks in Paris and Thursday’s attacks in Beirut, along with many others in recent months, the message of solidarity over polarity is a relevant one -- and it is one that this Muslim leader embraces in his work as a spiritual leader and a philanthropist. While extremists who belong to groups like the Islamic State seek to eliminate difference, the Aga Khan seeks to celebrate difference by engaging with it. While ISIS destroys art and architecture in historic places like Palmyra, the Aga Khan rebuilds and restores them. While ISIS seeks out disenchanted youth to recruit, the Aga Khan seeks out youth to educate.

But the Aga Khan is not a political leader. In fact, he is not political at all -- he does not make overt statements or comment on state actions. But what he does is offer a nuanced voice and presence to a world in which the ethics and values of Islam are constantly put to the test.

He is a practitioner of what Ali Asani calls “silent Islam,” “the work that people do that’s driven by faith” rather than the power-driven “loud Islam,” in which people “are using Islam to justify hegemonic goals.”

“Oftentimes I get asked where are the moderate Muslims and why aren’t they speaking out. Well here is a Muslim -- listen to him,” Asani, an Ismaili Muslim and director of the Islamic studies program at Harvard responsible for organizing the event, told The WorldPost.

“There are some people who write novels,” Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core and also an Ismaili Muslim, told the WorldPost. “There are other people who make political pronouncements, and there are some people who over the course of a half century build sustainable institutions -- and sustainable institutions that advance new ideas and new ethics and build patterns of activities to those ideas and ethics. And I believe he’s in that third category.”

The Aga Khan has built the expansive Aga Khan Development Network and has advanced appreciation for Islamic art and architecture. He’s also inspired scholars like Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, who makes a point to highlight pluralism in parts of the world, like Andalusia, where Muslims have co-existed with other faiths and cultures. 

“In a world where two dominant ideas appear to be clashing at different levels and in different ways -- the clash of civilizations and the dialogue of civilizations -- the Aga Khan is a key player on the international stage for team dialogue,” Ahmed told The WorldPost. “His courageous and consistent projection of Islam as an intelligent, sophisticated and compassionate religion has allowed him to create a strong counter narrative to much of the nonsense that is propagated against Islam.”

It is this “nonsense” that makes it important, perhaps now more than ever, to pay attention to the guidance of those such as the Aga Khan, Asani said. That “religious illiteracy” helps create an “exclusivist mentality,” he said, and we’re seeing that across the globe when people lack the tools -- the education -- to deal with difference.

In France, far-right politician Marine Le Pen has railed against immigrants; in Germany, the PEGIDA movement has held rallies against Islam; in the U.S., presidential contender Ben Carson has said the country shouldn't elect a Muslim as president; and in Europe, some countries are hesitant to accept Muslim refugees. Given this climate, it is little wonder why Asani finds the growing anti-immigrant and anti-Islam sentiments concerning.

“This exclusivist mentality is creating such terror,” Asani said. “The geopolitical situation in the world has become worse, and you’re seeing not only what’s happening in the Middle East but also all these refugees surging to Europe. And it’s creating panic in European societies."

The Aga Khan, too, noted some of the same trends in his speech and acknowledged that grappling with these developments is not an easy task.

“Whether we are looking at a more fragile European Union, a more polarized United States, a more fervid Sunni-Shia conflict, intensified tribal rivalries in much of Africa and Asia, or other splintering threats in every corner of the planet, the word ‘fragmentation’ seems to define our times,” he said. “We have more communication, but we also have more confrontation.”

This problem makes the challenge of pluralism perhaps more daunting, the Aga Khan said because, “even for the most ‘tolerant’ among us, difference, more and more, can be up close and ‘in your face.’”

Truly understanding these differences is crucial today and not only “for Muslim communities adapting to societies but also within the Muslim world,” where sectarian conflict can be exacerbated if these issues are not addressed properly, John Esposito, author of Islamophobia and the Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century, told The WorldPost.

This challenge of pluralism is of particular relevance to the Ismaili community, which has been persecuted during various chapters of its long history. In some areas of the world, practicing members continue to be the target of violence -- some sectarian, by those who consider the Ismaili version of Islam to be inauthentic -- including recently in Pakistan and Syria.

As he stood at the podium at Memorial Church looking over the pews of people gathered on the rainy afternoon to hear his message, the Aga Khan reminded them that despite the existence of different interpretations that run counter to pluralism, his religion has a history of cultural understanding.

“My hope is that the voices of Islam itself will continue to remind the world of a tradition that, over so many centuries, has so often advanced pluralistic outlooks and built some of the most remarkable societies in human history.”

For Patel, who devotes his own time to interfaith work, the words of the Aga Khan resonated strongly.

“What he is saying is the question of how human beings with different identities live together in the same societies is a defining question of the human race -- and it’s been with us from the beginning  -- and [he’s] going to spend 50 or 60 years advancing an ethic when it comes to that question,” Patel told The WorldPost. “And there are very few people in the world who focus on something for 50 or 60 years.”

Watch the full speech below:

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This little reporter got his first big interview after NASA replied to a photo blog post where he said he wanted to write about rockets going into space.

The youngster was out with his journalist father when they were photographed by Brandon Stanton, who publishes street portraits and short interviews on his Humans of New York Facebook page.

The boy revealed that he also wanted to be a reporter, and detailed exactly what his favorite assignment would be.

"My dad goes all over the world and learns about the news... I want to be a reporter too," he told Stanton.

"If I was a reporter right now, I'd probably write a story about if NASA was going to launch a new rocket into space. I'd start by going to the director of NASA. Then I'd ask him about his rockets. And if any of them were going to space,” he added.

The photo, and the boy’s quote, were uploaded to the popular HONY page, which has almost 16 million fans. Before long it came to the attention of NASA, which kindly gave the boy a surprise reply.

"We *are* going to launch a new rocket into space!" the space agency's official account said on the Facebook post thread. 

"We're developing NASA's Space Launch System to be the world's most powerful rocket and launch NASA's Orion Spacecraft into deep space, first to lunar orbits then eventually farther on the journey to Mars," NASA added.

The father and son have not yet been identified, but the post has gone viral, with NASA's response being liked more than 81,000 times.

The space agency has been widely praised for taking time out for the youngster, with many posters saying that it had "won the internet."

"Coolest comment on the interweb," wrote Alvin Joel Fernandez.

"With all of the suffering in our World right now it is a great GIFT to see NASA respond directly to the questions of a curious and hopeful young boy," Kathleen P. Bryant added. "Well Done, NASA!!"

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The holidays are coming! 

While the U.S. prepares for Thanksgiving, the Europeans have already gotten into the Christmas spirit, with the annual avalanche of heart-wrenching TV commercials.

Here are some of the biggest Christmas commercial hits in Europe this year:

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In this exclusive clip, Donny (played by Donny Deutsch) explains to his executive producer, Pam, that he plans on using his prestigious title as "Sexiest Man in Media" and his newfound "50 and beyond" fandom to go against his usual dating routine and date women his own age.

This sounds like a great idea, until you learn that Donny's never dated a woman close to his age, he isn't really taking it seriously and he's actually on "pause" with another woman.

"Donny!" airs on Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. ET on USA.

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It's time to order your 2016 calendar. And pit bull lovers, you are positively rich with options this time around.

Each of these calendars features wonderful pictures of the goofy, smiley, photogenic dogs that we know pit bulls to be.

But since the whole world hasn't caught up quite yet: They all also benefit pit bull rescue groups, advocacy organizations and individuals working their tails off to make sure 2016 is is a very good year, for our beloved dogs.  

The theme of Pinups for Pitbulls's 2016 calendar is traveling with your pit bull -- and how hard that can be, when so many cities and counties still have pit bull bans.

"Most people do not know, that in certain parts of the country, your dog can be taken away from you even if you're simply passing through. It is important for people to know that they must research their route before taking a road trip," Deirdre Franklin, the nonprofit's founder, said. Franklin also serves as this year's cover girl, along with her dog Baxter Bean, who took instantly to the side car.

Order the calendar here.

Photographer Lynn Terry -- best known for her pictures of pit bulls in a photo booth -- made pit bulls into pinup models, for the her 2016 calendar benefitting the St. Louis-based rescue group Mutts n Stuff.

Terry says her aim was to show the dogs "in a funny and soft side."

"If they can tolerate being dressed up and doing silly things like laundry then perhaps we can stop thinking of them in a vicious light," she says.

Order the calendar here.

The Unexpected Pit Bull's 2016 calendar is filled with inspiring, joyful stories about adopted and rescued pit bulls and the people who love them.

"We want people to put up their calendars in their offices and have their colleagues stop because they see a gorgeous photo, then stay there so that they can have a conversation with you about pit bulls," Hanna Fushihara, the group's art director, said. "We wanted the calendar to be a celebration but also a potential conversation starter. We’re confident that even non-pit bull lovers will be swayed by the quality of each photograph."

Order the calendar here. 

Shelter dogs wear floral crowns in photographer Sophie Gamand's 2016 Flower Power calendar -- an extension of Gamand's much-acclaimed Flower Power photo series, which is aimed at helping folks re-think pit bulls, and getting shelter pups adopted

"About half of the calendar models have been adopted. I hope the others will find homes soon, maybe even thanks to the calendar itself," Gamand said.

Order the calendar here.

Rescued animals with real-life rescuers -- like firefighters -- is the actual theme of the Charleston Animal Society's 2016 calendar.

Since so many of the firefighters seem to be missing their shirts, another theme is "Pecs and Puppies," Caroline Eller, who organized the calendar and took some of its more fiery images, said.

One of the calendar's stars is Caitlyn, the pit bull who was discovered with her muzzle taped shut in late May, in North Charleston, South Carolina. 

"Every time I see her calendar image I’m reminded of how far she has come and how happy she was during her photo shoot," Eller said. 

And by looking so good, Caitlyn's helping out other animals, as well. Calendar sale proceeds will go into the Charleston Animal Society's Toby Fund, which covers medical expenses for abused and abandoned animals.

Order the calendar here.

Austin Dog Rescue's 2016 calendar features musicians hanging out in adorable ways with dogs who are currently up for adoption, or who've recently found homes through the rescue.

"By pairing the dogs with some of our best local talent, we hope to bring awareness that great dogs, like great music, come from many backgrounds, take many forms, and that there is always something for everyone," Tyler Neufeld said. "All of the pit bulls featured had a rough start, but have found their way to families who are devoted to them and who they can love forever."

Order the calendar here. 

Shelter pets save Utah from UFOs and other calamities, in the Humane Society of Utah's 2016 calendar.

But during the shoot, Miss October, Sweety the pit bull, seemed more interested in climbing into photographer Guinnevere Shuster's lap and "sneaking kisses" than in protecting civilization.

Not that Shuster was complaining.

"I figured if she was going to save us from an alien invasion, it'd [be] by what pit bulls do best, giving kisses," she says.

Order the calendar here.

Every one of the dogs featured in Bikers Against BSL's first-ever calendar belongs to a type or a breed that's banned somewhere in the United States.

"Each of these dogs are loving, loyal family members. We want people to see the beauty of these dogs, and their inherent goodness," Chris White, the group's founder, said.

Proceeds will support Bikers Against BSL's efforts to fight breed specific legislation -- the titular "BSL" -- across the country 

Order the calendar here.

Earlier this year, the online store Pit Bull Princess held a contest, asking actual men who volunteer with dog rescue groups to send in photos of themselves with rescued pits, along with essays about their work.

Twelve admirable humans, and some lucky dogs, were selected for the "Real Men Rescue Pit Bulls" 2016 calendar -- a portion of the proceeds goes back to the shelters and rescue groups the men volunteer with.

"In a field typically dominated by women, these men stand out in the rescue community in their ability to love, nurture and stand up for dogs that have been beaten, abused and discriminated against," Nancy Vlahos, Pit Bull Princess owner, wrote on her website, "These are real, everyday men doing extraordinary things for pit bulls. They are amazing role models."

Order the calendar here -- and encourage your favorite pit bull-rescuing man to nominate himself for the 2017 calendar!

Australian photographer Ruth O'Leary volunteers with pet rescue groups, taking gorgeous adoption photos that help doggies find homes.

She's compiled 12 of these pics into a beautiful calendar that she hopes shows pit bulls' "beauty, their softness and especially their quirkiness."

Calendar sales will benefit a group called Fetching Dogs, which rescues and finds homes for dogs, and also helps train and rehabilitate doggies who need a little extra help.

The calendar is also a whole lot of fun for the people whose adopted dogs are featured.

"It's been amazing hearing from the people who have adopted a lot of these big goofballs and seeing how excited they are about their new best mate being a calendar star," O'Leary said. "They positively gush with love for their new dog and thank me for taking the photos that helped them to notice their adoption profile. It's heartwarming to see the happy ending that all these dogs deserve."

The calendar will be ready for order soon -- keep tabs here.

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

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Everyone who is growing up in the Internet age knows all too well that once something is out there, it will never disappear. Charlotte Brontë, who died in 1855, finished all her writing long before the advent of ill-judged Facebook photos or LiveJournal accounts from middle school -- but just last week, a couple pieces of her youthful writing resurfaced, tucked between the pages of a book that had belonged to her mother, Maria.

The Brontë Society, the organization that runs the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, England, announced last week they would be acquiring the book and the two pieces of writing inside for about $300,000.

So far, 2015 has seen the rediscovery of a rash of “lost” poems, short stories and fragments, both verified and questionable -- most notably Harper Lee’s second novel, Go Set a Watchman, and the previously unpublished Dr. Seuss book, What Pet Should I Get?

There must be something in the water.

Often these discoveries are unverifiable, unfinished works not intended for publication, or juvenilia, but for scholars of the authors, every bit of writing could be valuable insight. For the rest of us, well, don’t underestimate the appeal of a famous author’s brand. Hey, how much less interesting could a teenaged Brontë really be?

At least a few of these resurfaced manuscripts probably spent the past decades -- or centuries -- safely buried for a reason. “Nearly every novelist has a shelved novel in his or her closet or desk drawer: Trying out ideas that don’t work out is how writers learn,” wrote Scott Timberg on Salon after Go Set a Watchman was published.

Still, the more influential and brilliant a writer is, the more fun it is to see how their greatest works were drafted, reworked and honed. These are some of the most exciting lost manuscripts to be turned up, or to finally hit the shelves, this year -- here’s to a 2016 full of more literary discoveries!

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Warning: This article contains graphic nudity and may not be inappropriate for work. 

You've probably never heard of artist G.H. Rothe. If, perchance, you have, you're likely familiar with her commercial mezzotints, depicting horses, landscapes and dancers mid-leap. They're the kind of thing you might find in a dentist's waiting room, a schlocky hotel lobby, or the powder room of an equine enthusiast. While Rothe's career as an artist is characterized by her some 30,000 mass-produced tints, it appears that the German artist, who died in 2007 at 72 years old, had other, more NSFW interests. 

You see, when she wasn't hard at work creating a galloping herd of horses fading in and out of lucidity, Rothe was delving into subject matter far less dentist office-friendly. Specifically, the sexual relations of the retired set. An ongoing San Francisco-based exhibition titled "Seven Paintings" introduces these never-before-seen images to the public for the very first time since their creation in 1987. 

Rothe's paintings chronicle an older couple at various stages of getting it on. There's face licking, breast caressing, manual stimulation and oral sex, to name a few acts. In one particularly graphic image, a woman worships at the altar of a wrinkly scrotum. White hair protrudes in weightless tufts from heads, eyebrows, nipples and genital triangles. Nearly translucent skin yields to the body's bustling ecosystem of blue veins, red arteries, peach clusters and purple clots.

Yes, Rothe's subjects, unlike those usually permitted to engage in erotic pastimes on a public platform, are old. At once dream-like and painstakingly realistic, Rothe's paintings revel unabashedly in the imperfections of the aging body, while depicting the oft misshapen reality of sex as it appears in real life. In the canvases -- between the sex act itself and the grizzled bodies of the participants -- bodily boundaries loosen up, giving way to an undulating landscape of breasts, thighs, bellies and other pinkish stretches of meat. It's as if Rothe is capturing the strange sensation of bleeding into another person, both indulging in the pleasure and illuminating the gross uncanniness of it all. 

Somewhere between James Ensor's haunting dreamscapes and Lucian Freud's exploration of flesh's alien glow, Rothe's work renders a usually invisible act in a style at once euphoric, grotesque, sentimental, and kind of hot. The fact that many of the subjects are donning Titanic-esque jewels for their romps feels like one final punchline -- that human beings, the fleshy, pleasure-hungry animals we may be, opt to adorn our naked bodies with fancy gems, as if covering up our inherent grotesque beauty. 

Whether or not you see the extremely graphic images included as unsightly, inspirational or simply uncomfortable is up to you. Hopefully you'll taste all of the above.

In a world where sex between elderly individuals is often hidden from view, Rothe's paintings illuminate the beauty in all the the ugly imperfections, awkward moments and unflattering positions. Thanks to the mouths clenched in anticipation, so much so that lips disappear into the blackish orifice between them, and the pearl-colored breasts, which hang free and loose like overripe fruits, we grasp the immense intensity of love, an intensity that, against what we're so often told, doesn't fade with old age. 

"G.H. Rothe: Seven Paintings" will show at Atholl McBean Gallery in San Francisco until Dec. 12.

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You can't argue with the beauty of Berlin. Or Sydney, or San Francisco, or a variety of our other favorite travel destinations. A window seat was always the best way to see them... until now. 

Aerial photographer Vincent Laforet is on a mission to capture the world's most stunning cities from 10,000 feet in the air. Using a helicopter and G-Technology for photos, he's compiled some of his most striking views into a new book, "Air," which features a glittering jewel box of cities that makes us want to travel, like, NOW. 

Can you recognize these famous cities from way up high?

You can check out more of Laforet's work on his website, or explore his previous journeys to Los Angeles, NYC and London.

Then there's his epic trip to Las Vegas: 

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In "Youth," Michael Caine plays Fred, a retired classical musician vacationing with his best friend (Harvey Keitel) in the Swiss Alps when he is asked to perform one of his popular pieces at Prince Phillip's birthday party. Declining the invitation sends the septuagenarian into a tailspin of nostalgia while surrounded by his hotel's eclectic inhabitants, including his daughter (Rachel Weisz). The Huffington Post and its parent company, AOL, have an exclusive clip in which Fred declines the royal request for a touching reason that brings tears to his daughter's eyes.

Written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino ("The Great Beauty"), the old-age meditation has won mostly raves since premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in May. It opens theatrically on Dec. 4.

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American politics can make for epic theater, as evidenced by Broadway's smash hit, "Hamilton." Now, a new Off-Broadway musical is putting a quiet, satirical spin on a less-heralded side of our nation's heritage: the complex, often fraught relationships between first ladies and their daughters.

Michael John LaChiusa's "First Daughter Suite," which runs through Nov. 22 at New York's Public Theater, tells the story of the lives of the female inhabitants of the White House, young and old, to a hauntingly operatic score. The daughters of Richard M. Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Gerald R. Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush are the stars of what LaChiusa describes as a two-act "fantasia" divided into four fanciful, if zany, sung-through vignettes, each with its own unique tone.

LaChiusa, 53, wrote "First Daughter Suite" as a sequel of sorts to "First Lady Suite," his 1993 musical that dramatized the lives of Mamie Eisenhower, Eleanor Roosevelt and Jacqueline Kennedy. As with that earlier show, the composer and lyricist takes deep artistic license in his depiction of each of the iconic characters, and it isn't all glitz and glamour, either. In the "Patti by the Pool" sequence, Nancy Reagan (played by Alison Fraser) asks her maid (Anita Castelo) to lace a cocktail meant for her daughter, Patti Davis (Caissie Levy), with a sedative. Similarly, in "Amy Carter's Fabulous Dream Adventure," Jimmy Carter's 12-year-old daughter, Amy (Carly Tamer), takes an imaginary journey to Iran aboard the presidential yacht with her mother, Rosalynn (Rachel Bay Jones), as well as Susan Ford (Betsy Morgan) and Betty Ford (Fraser). 

The composer behind "Marie Christine" and "Giant" told The Huffington Post he didn't set out to create a musical biopic but rather a valentine of sorts to the women who spent their days in the White House.

"I'm fascinated by these women and their lives, particularly in their unelected role in political office, as well as the influence they had on their husbands' administrations and politics," he said. "It does take a lot to put yourself in a fish bowl. Some of them adapted very well to that, and some of them did not." 

In "In The Deep Bosom of the Ocean Buried," set at the Bush family's Kennebunkport compound, LaChiusa finds empathy in two women -- Barbara Bush (Mary Testa) and Laura Bush (Jones) -- intertwined with a less-beloved presidency. 

That vignette is in keeping with his effort "to stay as bipartisan as I can with the work." He added, "Politics is emotion, purely and simply. So therefore the piece is a very emotional piece. You may think you know what makes this person this way and what makes them tick, but also consider why they had to become the way that they became."

When "First Daughter Suite" concludes its run at the Public Theater (which is, incidentally, where "Hamilton" also had its world premiere) on Sunday, LaChiusa is focusing his efforts on the show's cast album, which he opens to have out by the end of the year. He hasn't exhausted his passion for first ladies just yet, but there are two he won't dramatize -- at least for now.

"I admire Michelle Obama and how she and her husband are bringing up their daughters in the White House," he said. "Hillary's amazing, and I love Chelsea [Clinton]. But their stories aren't finished yet."

Michael John LaChiusa's "First Daughter Suite" runs through Nov. 22 at the Public Theater in New York. Head here for more details. 

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What's your favorite thing about Vermont senator Bernie Sanders? Is it his passion for women's issues? Immigration reform? Civil rights? The grassroots nature of his campaign? His lively Twitter presence? His uncanny resemblance to Larry David? 

There is something special about the presidential hopeful that's attracting an ever-growing number of Americans tingling with that good, sweet, political optimism -- including at least 36 Los Angeles-based artists.

Artist Margaret Garcia is the brain behind "Art Bern: A Bernie Sanders Portrait Show," an exhibition focused on the many faces of the Sandman himself. We're talking Bernie as a Halloween costume, Bernie as a bunch of beans, Bernie as Colonel Sanders, Bernie as woodcut collage, and much more.

"I am concerned that no one in the Democratic field has the sex appeal necessary to be elected president in 2016," explained artist Marsian De Lellis of his work. "Bernie Sanders is Finger Lickin’ Good." "The current media landscape has become infected with a Kardashian Effect where celebrity and reality show behavior trump substance in the ratings grab. Sure, Bernie Sanders’ social and economic justice policies are sexy, but I worry that the whole 'Feel the Bern' hashtag popular with his supporters sounds like a slogan for chlamydia or at least a UTI -- and that burning (Berning) connotes more of a destructive force. I am taking a different approach with Bernie Sanders in 'Finger Lickin’ Good' and I hope America is ready to consume what Sanders is serving."

See the many faces of Bernie at Haus of Marsian through Dec. 6th, by appointment. Contact the gallery at (323)254-4565 or email amy@futurestudio.com. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the BernieSanders campaign. Catch a preview below.

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WatchCut, the brand behind the "100 Years Of Beauty" series that runs on YouTube, has taken a trip to Ethiopia for its latest installment. 

The video beautifully captures the unique styles of women in Ethiopia through each decade, beginning in 1900. From the scalp-tight braids of the 1910s to the sleek and straight style of the 2000s, every look has distinct inspiration, features and flair. 

In a behind-the-scenes video, Karen Maniracho, the video researcher for the project, identified each of the iconic Ethiopian women she drew inspiration from to help create the looks, including Assegedech Assefa, Ethiopia's first female pilot, Dina Fikadu, crowned Miss Ethiopia in 2006 and Empress Menen Asfaw, among others.  

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Artists have been depicting the naked body for quite some time. As the Metropolitan Museum of Art puts it, this is perfectly natural, given the fact that humans spend a lot of their time without clothes, "from birth to the bath to the boudoir." Yet, after centuries of ogling the nude body on canvas or as sculpture, audiences still have a hard time talking about what they're seeing. 

Last week, when Amedeo Modigliani's "Reclining Nude" sold for a jaw-dropping $170 million at auction, Bloomberg News opted to censor the painting when it displayed the art on air. All right, we've already taken issue with the arbitrary censorship of art on TV. But what about the two anchor's responses to the work? "Too racy!" they exclaimed in unison. 

Sure, Modigliani's painting depicts both the breasts and pubic hair of a naked woman, but does that mean it's racy? Nude art hangs in the halls of just about every major museum, and graces the auction block of historic institutions like Christie's and Sotheby's regularly. It's a definitive part of our creative culture -- from the Venus of Willendorf to ukioy-e to modern works by Gustav Klimt or Picasso. Can we figure out a thoughtful way of talking about it, without resorting to phrases like "racy"?

This month, Sotheby's is hosting an exhibition in its London S|2 space, titled "The Nude in the XX and XXI Century." Let's take this opportunity to not only preview a glimpse of 200 years' worth of beautiful art, but also to outline a guide to reading and understanding the naked figure in art history. 

First, take in the whole image. Upon first glance, you might focus on the naked bits taking up a frame. But don't let the blushworthy subject matter prevent you from drinking in the colors and shapes that work together to create a painting, drawing or statue. Follow the lines as if you were deconstructing a landscape, evaluating the foreground, background and everything in between. Whether the work is realistic or abstract, push yourself to connect the nude figure you see in front of you with the blanket of color or intricate setting surrounding it.

Read the title. Now that you've inhaled and exhaled properly, read the title of the work. The title can speak volumes, revealing whether the tone of a piece is romantic, critical or ironic. Take South African artist Marlene Dumas' painting above, dubbed "That Type of Girl." Without even knowing the oeuvre of Dumas (or that she frequently paints unfiltered portraits of subjects like sex workers and corpses), these simple words can alter your perception of the stark, nearly nude woman standing before you. You might have a knee-jerk reaction to the word "type," feeling as though the artist is toying with your perception of women and equality. How does this loaded phrase change the way you see a girl's defiant stance and head-on stare? What "type of girl" would stand this way, naked before a person?

“With text, it is the titles that make people look at in a certain way," Dumas divulged to The Independent.

Then check the date. Even though Bloomberg anchors still bristle at the sight of a Modigliani, contemporary culture is arguably more at ease with nudity than, say, the early 20th-century society crowd. Any art history student remembers reading about the tantalizing art shunned by more puritanical critics at the salons of Europe (e.g. Édouard Manet's "Olympia" from 1865). With this in mind, Kees van Dongen's "Femme Nue Blonde," completed in 1906 and shown above, takes on new meaning, simply for the fact that it was painted over 100 years ago. 

Look purposefully beyond the naked body. Focus on what's subversive about the artwork, outside of the naked flesh. An initial peek at Martin Eder's "Full Moon" above might only afford you the view of a nude butt, but look beyond it, and there's an ominous landscape of dark clouds and what appears to be rushing water. These details could easily hide behind the, well, behind, but without them, Eder's work is incomplete. With them, this naked figure is suddenly forced out into the open, positioned alone at the precipice of a wild expanse, entirely vulnerable to the elements. The comfortable position of the hands on the glossy back contrasts with the unruly environment, and all of this tension elevates Eder's work.

Question your perspective. Both figuratively and literally. Ask yourself: What is your physical relationship to the work? Does the figure stare into your eyes, or avert your glance? Is the body positioned squarely in front of you, or partially obscured from view? Do you as a viewer overpower his or her stare? How does this balance of power change the way you feel staring at the painting or sculpture?

Next, ask yourself: What is your relationship to the subject in terms of gender, race and class? Women have long been the subject of nude artworks, but throughout history, were rarely the ones yielding a paintbrush in major institutions. As the Guerrilla Girls point out in their 2007 poster, less than three percent of artists at the Met are women, but 83 percent of the nudes are female. And some of those female bodies belonged to sex workers willing to pose nude for male artists. In response, many artists -- like Tracy Emin above -- have attempted to question the long-honored "male gaze," just as others have attempted to challenge Western audiences' appropriation of non-Western themes and peoples.

In Emin's "The Perfect Dream," the faint outline of a young woman appears to be staring amusingly at a rather phallic object, a humorous reversal of the age-old, male-on-female form of objectification we're used to. All of this adds context to Caroline Walker's question posed in a description for Sotheby's show: "What is it to be a woman and be looked at by men?"

Think about how this kind of nudity compares to the ways naked bodies are depicted in mainstream media. Outside of art, there's no shortage of nude or even erotic imagery lining magazines, bus stops, billboards and the margins of digital media. Images of bodies that have been photoshopped to adhere to unrealistic, heteronormative body ideals only continue to proliferate, in advertisements and on television and in film. So, how do those images stack up against the nude art before you? Does that nude painting or statue blend in with the whitewashed forms on TV, or does it challenge the conformity of imagery in mainstream media? Here's where you start thinking outside the frame.

A little research never hurts. Just as knowing the title and date of an artwork can affect your perception of a work, knowing a little bit more about the artist and his or her practice can also enrich your experience. It might help to know that Martin Eder seeks to comment on a generation of people "who grew up with Internet porn and have a completely different relationship with the nude." Or that Jonathan Yeo's gridded depiction of a naked torso is meant as a "study of the of the impact of plastic surgery." It's on your shoulders to put in the research necessary to fully digest a new piece of art.

No, you don't have to differentiate between the words "naked" and "nude." Although, art historian Kenneth Clark would like you to. "The word 'nude,'" he says, "carries, in educated usage, no uncomfortable overtone. The vague image it projects into the mind is not of a huddled and defenceless body, but of a balanced, prosperous and confident body ... " Clark's definition is, by his own admission, a little elitist. We prefer the unabashed terminology of Sotheby's: "The naked human body has the power to compel, to shock and to seduce." Substitute the word nude, and you're still experiencing the same emotions.

But when it's all said and done, don't try to "get" nude art. As fellow HuffPost writer Priscilla Frank wrote in a previous article on reading abstract art, "This is the part where you take a deep breath and fully accept the fact that you're working outside the realm of answers and explanations." Sometimes a naked body is just a naked body, because not all artists create according to a premeditated script. And unfortunately, in some cases, nude art is the result of questionable men enjoying the opportunity to look at naked women. We can't deny that.

But before you slap the term "racy" on a work of art, try to get through these easy steps first. Even if there's no hidden "meaning" lurking below, the experience of connecting to a piece of art is valuable nonetheless.

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Every writer began as a reader, a brilliant new photo feature from New York Magazine's The Cut reminds us. The Cut photographed and interviewed five acclaimed women authors, each embodying a favorite literary character, in a piece on "literary heroines" appearing in the Nov. 16 issue of the magazine.

We may know Hanya Yanagihara as the author of this year's melancholy epic A Little Life, and Angela Flournoy as the scribe behind breakout novel The Turner House -- both finalists for the National Book Award in Fiction, which will be awarded this week.

But did you know Yanagihara feels a special connection to Tom Ripley, the scheming social climber of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley? "The villains," she told The Cut, "are always the characters the author has the most fun writing."

Flournoy, on the other hand, was profoundly affected by Toni Morrison's classic Sula. "The first time I read it, I had never really read a book that was pretty plainly just about black female friendship," she recalled. 

Check out the full feature, including authors Alexandra Kleeman and Emily St. John Mandel, at The Cut.

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When we think about the future of architecture, it's difficult not to throw ourselves into the realm of wild imagination, pondering which rules of physics we can defy with mind-boggling designs.

But, in reality, the architects working on the borderline between the real and the impossible have much more relevant goals in mind than creating buildings that stretch into the heavens or topple over each other like weightless blocks. Many architects, working throughout Asia and the Middle East in particular, are attempting to solve today's problems -- resource scarcity, overpopulation, decaying infrastructure, poor transportation -- by devising the schools, assisted living centers, museums and residences of tomorrow. The results can be physically fantastical, but most often, it's the problem-solving behind a design that blows our minds.

This month, the World Architecture Festival announced its list of 2015 winners, celebrating 350 finalists across 34 categories. In front of an audience of more than 2,000 architects in Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, experts analyzed and praised an assortment of completed and future designs meant to address issues of sustainability and community development across the globe. While the top award -- the World Building of the Year -- went to the Interlace, a towering residential complex in the host country, a slew of other buildings received their fair share of attention too. 

Check out a visual summary of the buildings, landscapes, homes and stadiums that won accolades this year. And remember, the future of architecture isn't always as sci-fi as we might think.

Singapore

Japan

Vietnam

China

Brazil

Qatar

India

United States

Australia

Sweden

Spain

Canada

Russia

Croatia

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BANGKOK, Nov. 12  -- Only nine countries have achieved a UN development goal of reducing the number of women dying before, during or after giving birth by 75 percent since 1990, the United Nations and the World Bank said on Thursday.

Worldwide, maternal mortality fell by 43 percent in the 25-year period, thanks to access to better-quality health services during pregnancy and childbirth, and to sexual and reproductive health services and family planning, they said in a report.

"Over the past 25 years, a woman's risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes has nearly halved," said Flavia Bustreo, assistant director-general for family, women's and children's health at the World Health Organization (WHO).

UN member states pledged in 2000 to reduce maternal mortality, defined as a woman's death during pregnancy, childbirth or within 6 weeks after birth, by three quarters by 2015 as part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS).

The Maldives, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cape Verde, East Timor, Iran, Laos, Mongolia and Rwanda reduced maternal mortality by between 78 and 90 percent, the organisations' report said.

Globally, the number of maternal deaths dropped 43 percent to an estimated 303,000 this year from about 532,000 in 1990, or to 216 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births from 385 in 1990, the report said.

East Asia saw the sharpest drop, to 27 deaths per 100,000 live births from 90.

A new set of targets adopted by world leaders in September - the Sustainable Development Goals - includes reducing maternal deaths to fewer than 70 per 100,000 live births globally.

That will require the pace of reduction to more than triple to 7.5 percent per year, beginning in 2016, from the 2.3 percent annual improvement between 1990 and 2015, the report said.

(Reporting by Bangkok newsroom, editing by Tim Pearce. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, which covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit www.trust.org to see more stories.)

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