Sweetbitter faced dauntingly high expectations for many months before any reviewers, let alone members of the general public, had the opportunity to read it. Stephanie Danler was an unpublished writer working as a waitress at Buvette, a West Village eatery, when she mentioned her manuscript to a guest, an editor at Penguin Random House. The editor, Peter Gethers, agreed to take a look out of politeness, but was staggered by its quality. The manuscript was soon snatched up for an enormous two-book deal by Knopf.

“The unlikely way the book came to him has the whiff of an urban legend,” wrote The New York Times’ Alexandra Alter in 2014. That, or a fairy tale -- a lens Danler’s blonde, blue-eyed beauty only emphasizes. The whole thing seems almost too good to be true. In an EW article about several women authors who’ve recently received large advances, the question of whether their personal attractiveness influenced their compensation floated above it all. Claudia Herr, who acquired Sweetbitter for Knopf, responded, “We would have paid her the same money if she weighed 500 pounds and was really hard to look at. That’s my firm belief.” The response didn’t play well, but it’s clear what she wanted to push back against the idea that Danler’s work didn’t stand on its own, but hung even in part on her youthful good looks.

That’s a really tough question to have in mind as you evaluate a book, especially knowing how difficult the world of publishing can be for women, whether they're being marginalized for not being fuckable, or being dismissed for being too fuckable. It’s not really fair for Sweetbitter, which is still, in the end, a debut novel, to have those expectations on its naive shoulders.

The reviews thus far have been strong, however, so the book can clearly stand up to an unusual level of scrutiny. It’s a sensual, hazy book, with scenes meant to be basked in rather than hurried through, and Danler’s years of eating and observing in the city are put to good use. Like the author, the book’s protagonist, Tess, has moved to New York City from the Midwest and landed a job at the Union Square Café (which is not named in the novel, but is recognizable). There, as an inexperienced back waiter, she’s swept into a delirium of exhausted days and wasted nights with her new service family; she has to learn the ways of the restaurant, acclimate to the demands of serving in a New York City restaurant, and figure out her place in a group of waitstaff, bartenders and chefs who’ve been working together for years.

Quickly, Tess gravitates toward Simone, a long-time waiter with serious wine expertise and a worldly manner, and toward Jake, a troubled but gorgeous bartender who shares an indecipherably close platonic intimacy with Simone. As Simone takes Tess under her wing, spending private sessions teaching the new back waiter about wine -- how to taste it, how to distinguish different appellations and vintages -- Jake and Tess fall into a fevered fling, despite the older woman’s disapproval.

As the year whiles away, Tess might still be called “the new girl,” but Danler adeptly captures the murky transition from those first terrifying months as a working adult, as a New York City transplant, to the inevitable time when each moment of your routine seems as simple as breathing, and when you get a chance to stop and notice, you realize that you’re not faking it anymore -- you’ve made it.

Despite those heightened expectations, Sweetbitter is not a perfect book. Danler’s passages on flavor and food walk the tightrope between profoundly enticing and overwrought, occasionally tipping toward the latter. On apples, she writes, “I only knew that it was a humble fruit, made for unremarkable moments. It’s just food, I thought as I finished it, core and all. And yet it carries us into winter. It holds us steady.” Maybe, yet ascribing such intentionality to apples can smack of labored profundity.

On the other hand, here are heirloom tomatoes: “But this was so luscious, so tart I thought it victorious. So -- some tomatoes tasted like water, and some tasted like summer lightning.” Perfect.

In part it’s the polished, MFA-esque style of Danler’s writing that can make these awkward moments irritating. So much of the prose is streamlined, evocative, and then she’ll describe how a character “regarded me with a passive reception to my words.” This hiccups are more baffling than anything, arriving as they seem to without rhyme or reason.

The question of whether Sweetbitter is perfect, though, isn’t a fair one. Nor is whether it lives up to the hype. The question, as with any new book, is: why read it? In the case of Sweetbitter, it’s to somehow experience all five senses through the written word, to feel the frenetic pace of New York clattering in your bones, and to relive that time in your life -- wherever and however it was -- when you were ejected from your comfort zone and passed through a trial by fire to emerge a self-sufficient, triumphant adult. If a book could be a bottle containing a struggling New York transplant’s first year of city life, Sweetbitter might just be it, and that’s quite a feat.

The Bottom Line:

A flawed but dazzling coming-of-age story, Sweetbitter captures foodie culture and the highs and lows of getting by in New York City.

What other reviewers think:

The New York Times: "It would be a tired story if it weren’t so, well, for one thing true and for another so brilliantly written."

Kirkus: "The writing is mostly incandescent, with visceral and gorgeous descriptions of flavors, pitch-perfect overheard dialogue, deep knowledge of food, wine, and the restaurant business, and only occasional lapses into unintentional pretentiousness."

Who wrote it?

Stephanie Danler lives in Brooklyn and holds an MFA in creative writing from the New School. Sweetbitter is her first novel.

Who will read it?

Readers who love sensuous food writing and narratives of city life.

Opening lines:

“You will develop a palate.

A palate is a spot on your tongue where you remember. Where you assign words to the textures of taste. Eating becomes a discipline, language-obsessed. You will never simply eat food again.”

Notable passage:

“I flipped the shell back. I was prepared for the brininess. For the softness of it. For the rigidity and strangeness of the ritual. Adrenalized, fiercely private. I panted slightly and opened my eyes. Jake was looking at me and said, ‘They’re perfect.’

“He handed me the beer. It was nearly black, persuasive as chocolate, weighty. The finish was cream, it matched the oyster’s creaminess. The sensory conspiracy made the blood rush to my head, made my skin break out in goose bumps. Ignore him. Look away. I looked at him.

“‘Can I have another?’”

Sweetbitter
by Stephanie Danler
Knopf, $25.00
Published May 24, 2016

The Bottom Line is a weekly review combining plot description and analysis with fun tidbits about the book.

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NOTE: Spoilers from “Game of Thrones” Season 6 ahead.

She may be the badass Mother of Dragons. But even Emilia Clarke couldn't help being embarrassed when watching that nude "Game of Thrones" scene with her parents.

The British actress, who plays Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO epic fantasy drama, opened up about the awkward screening on "The Graham Norton Show," which aired in the U.K. on Friday night.

With her mom and dad commenting on how she hadn't appeared in many of the early episodes of the sixth season, she encouraged them to watch one. It happened to be the one in which she appears completely naked.

"In hindsight [it] might have been not the episode to choose," she said. 

Norton asked her whether she watched the entire scene with her parents.

"Yes," she replied, before flushing red and trying to change the topic.

"I think I probably started talking about something really important, like 'Top Gear,'" she added, before turning to actor Matt LeBlanc, who was also on the show promoting the upcoming relaunch of the BBC motoring show.

Check it out in the clip above.

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Ernie Button appreciates every last drop of his single malt Scotch. But he doesn't drink the dregs. Instead, he photographs them.

The 48-year-old photographer from Phoenix, Arizona, has documented the residue that's left over in whisky glasses for more than a decade.

And it's resulted in a stunning, otherworldly collection of images -- entitled Vanishing Spirits: The Dried Remains of Single Malt Scotch.

"I find it infinitely fascinating that a seemingly clear liquid could leave a residue and/or pattern with such clarity and rhythm after the liquid is gone," Button told The Huffington Post via email. "I am a fan of observing my world and the things that are happening around me; noticing the smaller details that may be ignored or overlooked."

Button said the idea for his labor of love occurred when he was putting a whisky glass into his dishwasher.

"I noted a film on the bottom of a glass and when I inspected closer, I noted these fine, lacy lines filling the bottom," he told HuffPost.

Through experimentation and shining colored lights through the glass, he discovered patterns and images could be created with just two to four drops of the beverage.

"The alcohol dries and leaves the sediment in various patterns," he added. "It's a little like snowflakes."

Button has snapped hundreds of striking shots featuring more than 25 brands of whisky over the years.

His work inspired researchers at Princeton University, led by Dr. Howard Stone, to discover why whisky doesn't leave behind "rings" beneath glasses when it evaporates, unlike coffee residue on cups can.

"His team did a nice job answering the mechanical question of how the whisky was drying and what makes it unique," Button said.

Asked for his favorite image, the photographer said it was "usually the next one that I take."

"When the pattern of the circular rings forms at the bottom of the glass after a fine Scotch, it never disappoints me," he added.

Check out more of Ernie Button's work on his website or via his Instagram.

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Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy" just got a gorgeous vintage jazz makeover.

The late hip-hop star's 1994 hit has been beautifully reworked by Postmodern Jukebox, with the sensational guest singer Maiya Sykes on vocals.

"Biggie's 'Juicy' was one of the most iconic rap songs of the '90s, and even made its way to the rural town in New Jersey where I grew up," Scott Bradlee, the group's creator, wrote on its website.

"Our version -- which features a vocalese improvised by Maiya on the spot -- takes the song to an NYC jazz club in the bebop era, while still retaining the upbeat optimism of the original," he added.

See how it compares to Biggie's original here:

Postmodern Jukebox and its impressive roster of singers have a history of giving modern pop, rock and rap songs a vintage twist.

Drake's "Hotline Bling" was recently reworked, to great effect:

Justin Bieber's "Sorry" was given this Motown makeover:

Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" was also taken back in time:

As was Guns N' Roses 1987 rock anthem "Sweet Child O' Mine."

Check out more of Postmodern Jukebox's music via its YouTube channel and website.

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After North Carolina's controversial House Bill 2 took effect in March, a number of A-list musical acts, including Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam, responded by canceling their scheduled performances in the Tar Heel State in protest. 

Others, such as Beyoncé and Jimmy Buffett, opted to move forward with their shows while denouncing the anti-LGBT legislation, which prohibits transgender people from using the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity and restricts cities from passing non-discrimination laws.  

Now, indie folk band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros have gone a step further by inviting a gay couple onstage during a sold-out May 27 concert at the North Carolina Museum of Art's Theater in the Park in Raleigh to renew their marriage vows. (Check out video of the proceedings above) 

The two men, PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews, and his husband, production designer Jack Ryan, have long been opposed to anti-LGBT legislation in North Carolina. In 2012, they spoke out against the state's Amendment One, which banned same-sex marriages and civil unions under the state constitution. 

Alex Ebert, who is the frontman of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, offered a cheeky introduction to the couple, whom he called "Jack and Daniel." After he asked the couple to exchange vows to “express your love freely, whenever and wherever,” Ebert proclaimed, “I now pronounce you Jack Daniels!” 

In an email statement, Ebert told The Huffington Post that he and his bandmates considered canceling the show, but opted to "rally the crowd instead by renewing the vows of our good friends onstage." 

“HB2 was passed by an immoral minority—North Carolina has many thriving, creative, modern communities,” he said. 

Cheers to you, "Jack Daniels." 

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There hasn't been a new "Calvin and Hobbes" in more than 20 years, yet in many ways the comic strip remains as popular as ever. 

Why? 

"The most meaningful art is able to be enjoyed and understood at every stage of life," explains YouTuber Kristian Williams in a clip posted online last week:

"With 'Calvin and Hobbes,' you're always discovering something new. Read them when you're 6, and fall in love with the colorful adventures of a boy and his tiger. But revisit them when you're 16 and 26, and they take on an entirely different and equally impactful meaning."

That meaning has led to an enduring appeal despite no new comics and zero marketing beyond the books ("Calvin and Hobbes" creator Bill Watterson was famously against licensed products based on his characters). 

Unlike other comics, which have almost interchangeable characters and strips that lead up to a single joke, "Calvin and Hobbes" was more substantial. It was art.

Learn more in the clip above. 

(h/t Slate)

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ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday awarded medals to American actors Richard Gere and George Clooney and actress Salma Hayek at an event held at the Vatican to promote the work of a foundation inspired by the pontiff, Scholas Occurrentes.

Clooney attended the event with his wife Amal, a lawyer.

The foundation, whose name means "schools that meet" in Spanish, links technology with the arts, aiming at social integration and a cultural of peace.

Francis had created a similar organization when he was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, but Scholas has now become an international foundation working out of the Vatican.

"Important values can be transmitted by celebrities," said one of the organizers, Lorena Bianchetti, adding that the actors had agreed to be ambassadors for one of the foundation's arts projects.

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Twitter was abuzz May 24 when a hashtag asking Marvel Comics to give Captain America a boyfriend began trending. 

On the heels of that viral effort, a new campaign calling for more lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) representation in superhero blockbusters has launched. (Don't miss the trailer above) 

Created by Shape History, a London-based advocacy group focused on social change, the #LGBTSuperheroes effort wants to inspire Hollywood to portray Iceman, Catwoman and Mystique, who have all been depicted as LGBT at varying points since their inception, as queer when their stories hit the big screen. 

The group released a brand-new trailer, showing a male superhero with a few secrets of his own, at MCM Comic Con in London on May 27. Officials hope that the new clip will convince movie producers that there's a strong and clear demand for an LGBT superhero, as evidenced by young adult novels, comic books and even weddings. 

"We hope that we can demonstrate to the studios that there is a huge audience for accurate LGBT portrayal on the big screen," Shape History's Mike Buonaiuto, who directed the trailer, told The Huffington Post in an email, "and it won’t deter cinema­ goers to buy tickets.”

Buonaiuto also helmed "Credence," a 2015 feature-length film which put a gay twist on the science fiction genre, as well as "Homecoming” and "Invisible Parents," two short films which highlighted LGBT inequality.  

Let's make this happen, Hollywood! Read more about the #LGBTSuperheroes effort here. 

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Pakistani photographer Fahhad Rajper says when he first heard about a proposed bill that would allow husbands to “lightly beat” their wives as discipline, it “gave me a disturbing feeling.”

The bill in question was part of a proposal by the Council of Islamic Ideology, a group that advises the Pakistani government on whether they think laws align with Islam. The council advised that husbands could “lightly” beat their wives for offenses like refusing sex, not dressing as her husband wishes or not bathing after sex or menstruation, the Washington Post reports.

But though the council purports to advise on Islamic teachings, plenty of Muslims -- including Rajper -- were incensed by their recommendation.

“Islam doesn’t preach [any] such thing, be it for a man or a woman,” he told The Huffington Post in an email. He said a “majority” of Pakistans do not approve of the bill, adding that “anyone who’s sane enough wouldn’t be okay with it.”

That’s why Rajper launched #TryBeatingMeLightly, a photo series showcasing Pakistani women’s reactions to the proposal. The captions of his black and white portraits were written by the subjects.

See more of Rajper's work on Facebook and Instagram.

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A woman stands in front of her kitchen sink, nonchalantly washing something in her ruffled blue underwear. It’s not some idyllic image of femininity, though -- at least not one that caters to the male gaze. Her long blond hair is unwashed, tied haphazardly into a ponytail; her counter is cluttered with cords and appliances.

It’s a candid snap of a girl living girlishly in her own space, rather than performing girlhood for the pleasure of others. It’s part of a series taken by Chinese photographer Luo Yang, whose shots of young women with unshaved armpits, unabashed nakedness and brooding cigarette-smoking collectively communicate the candid, even gritty, side of teenagehood.

When viewed by a Western audience, Yang’s series seems comparable -- at least aesthetically -- to the bevy of young women working to capture the warring imagery of feminine self-expression and girlish grittiness. Tampons, wads of hair, gunky globs of makeup, and tear-stained faces are featured prominently in the work of Petra Collins and her ilk.

But Yang is billed with an extra task. In her work, she hopes to challenge stereotypes about Chinese women. She works to capture a burgeoning subculture in China, which, according to a description of her work, “defies imposed expectations.”

The exhibition text describes Yang’s subjects as, “bad-assed and self-aware, yet insecure, vulnerable and torn, with a supreme sense of cool. Although different, they share the same ambivalent emotions, confusions and concerns.” Some of the women in her portraits seem unquestioningly brave -- one stares down the camera head-on, accentuating her lip piercing with a pout -- and it’s never made clear whether these poses are the result of inner strength, a desire to perform, or, more likely, both.

In another image, a woman lays on her back on concrete rubble, showing off her armpit hair and pretty tattoos. She looks serenely at ease among the contradictions of her self-selected identity markers. In yet another, a woman stands with her legs firmly planted on a busy highway. An onlooker stares, perhaps because she’s wearing a long-sleeved shirt with mesh underwear, but she doesn’t acknowledge his gaze. Instead, she stares straight ahead, lifting the hem of her blouse.

In an interview with MO-Industries, Yang said that the subject of this particular photo, like many of her subjects, some of whom are her friends, chose the setting herself. “She and her friends often go there for fun,” Yang said. “It is interesting to have such a strong comparison between publicity and privacy.”

Yang's photos are on view in Berlin through June 5.

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The last we heard of Harry Potter and his Hogwartsian friends, they were pairing off and raising school-bound wizards of their own. As expected by fanfic writers and just plain fans, Harry and Ginny got married -- and gave birth to three kids, one whom they named after the wise and brave Albus Dumbledore. Talk about lofty expectations. 

The brief epilogue to the final book in the series leaves much to the imagination, zipping through cursory details about each of the characters’ adult lives. Ron and Hermione, we learn, have two kids, and Neville Longbottom is, unsurprisingly, a Hogwarts professor. But what were their weddings like? Do they all catch up over drinks at Hogsmeade? And, most pressingly, what do they look like now?

Some of the characters' biographical details will be revealed in one week, when “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” a play based on a short story penned by J.K. Rowling, begins previews. The script, written by Jack Thorne, will be made available shortly after, hopefully coloring in more details and imaginings than Rowling’s story offered in a short space.

In the meantime, the production’s Facebook page has released photos of its cast in full-on witchy and wizardy garb. Jamie Parker, who’s playing Harry, rocks his famed glasses and scar (there’s no such thing as magical, extra-strength Neosporin, apparently) and a three-piece suit, a fancy getup for his fancy job at the Ministry of Magic. Charming.

See his portrait and the rest of the casts’ (including Ginny, Albus, Ron and Hermoine) below.

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Have you ever fallen asleep watching TV, inviting the characters on screen to slip seamlessly into your dreams? Looking at a Nancy Davidson sculpture feels like nodding off during a rerun of "The Smurfs," only to get simultaneously bombarded and seduced by Mama Smurf's whopping ass, floating untethered through space like a beach ball in a G-string. 

Davidson creates massive inflatable sculptures that resemble an unbridled body, ballooned and bulging. Combining pop culture kitsch with a feminist spirit and carnivalesque sense of humor, the artist specializes in a visceral language of bellies, bumps and lovely lady lumps, harnessing the bodily force of the human form in a minimalist range of colors and shapes.

In her show "Ridin' High," at Lord Ludd in Philadelphia, Davidson invites her biomorphic forms to bump and grind above viewers, at once drawing us closer, turning us on, and freaking us out. Many of the sculptures begin with a weather balloon that the artist blows up with a nozzle. Then she goes to work, squeezing and binding and smushing the round orbs into various bodacious configurations.

For example, "Blue Moon" (below) resembles a belly and butt bursting from a corset trying desperately to restrain them, while another recalls fishnet stockings winding their way up impossibly long legs. Through abstraction, Davidson creates images so physical you may find yourself needing to swallow, as sometimes perusing erotic materials makes one forget to breathe. 

"Everybody has a different creation story," Davidson said in an interview with The Huffington Post. "For me, I always knew I wanted to be an artist." 

Born in Chicago in 1943, Davidson was interested in art since the age of 5. Growing up, she would venture outside the city limits with her father, whom she described as a "Sunday painter," to watch as he replicated the landscape with pigment. She attended classes at Chicago's Junior Art Institute, where she enjoyed working with clay, struck by the intensity of touching the material. 

In 1961, when Davidson became pregnant, she temporarily placed her art school dreams on hold to get married, work as a teacher and raise her son. In 1970 she returned to the Art Institute of Chicago to get her bachelor's degree in art, and a master's right after. During that time, feminist icons like Joyce Kozloff, Barbara Kruger and Judy Rifka served as visiting artists, tempting Davidson and her fellow students with tales of the New York art world. 

Davidson was most enchanted with the work of artist Eva Hesse. "Her materials were taking on meaning for her as a woman," she explained. "She held this personal relationship to the materiality of the work, while operating in this conceptual, minimalist language." Working in latex, fiberglass, and plastics, Hesse replaced the rigid geometry of male-dominated minimalism with soft edges and imperfect forms that alluded to nature and the unrefined body. 

"The other thing that was so interesting to me was the whole idea of absurdity," Davidson added. "That, I feel like, was something I understood as a woman." Absurdity runs thick throughout Davidson's work, from her sculptures' honking dimensions to their slick, plastic exteriors. The works themselves allude to the absurd demands placed on the contemporary body, always bigger, rounder, sleeker, shinier, smoother, blown up here and pinched back there to create a shape that, despite its random configuration, comes off as desirable.

Davidson came to inflatables after doing paper-based works, which explored abstract symbols of female power used in tribal civilizations and rituals. "The work didn’t give back," Davidson said. "I wanted my work to reflect my own sense of humor. I wanted it to move off the wall, to step into the space. I wanted to work with popular culture, tropes that broader audiences could really step toward."

She found her inspiration in a variety of pop culture icons known for their bodily excess. Like Elvis Presley, the muse behind "Blue Moon," who had to wear a corset to hold his belly in during a run of Las Vegas shows. Or Mae West, who similarly, as a pop culture spectacle, was forced to maintain her constructed personality and physical shape in tandem. In an essay, Andria Hickey compares the buxom works to Kim Kardashian's rear end, oiled up and trying its best to break the Internet. 

And then came the idea for her fleshy material itself: the balloon. "Who knows how the mind works and how I thought of using a weather balloon!" Davidson exclaimed.

She knew she wanted to work big, but light, and with a material she could handle with her own bare hands. So she ordered a balloon from the yellow pages and got busy, cutting off its circulation to create jarring juxtapositions of restraint and excess. The power dynamics loom largely over Davidson's inflatable playground, with her forms so intensely conducted and controlled. There's almost a whiff of S&M, as if the candy-colored structures at Chuck E. Cheese were remodeled for a sex dungeon. 

"All balloons, when you blow them up, are round," Davidson said. "Any shape I make them into has to be engineered. I have to figure out how to make a structure to fit it in, so they do what I want them to do. I really enjoyed manipulating the balloons. I enjoyed squeezing them and making them feel a little uncomfortable." 

"They're funny, in a very bodily way," Davidson concluded. There's no real punchline, it's just that bodies themselves, so often kept in line and covered up, are dirty jokes in and of themselves. Aside from evoking laughs, bodies, especially bigger bodies, are often the objects of critique. The buxom forms, like the stars of "The Real Housewives of Toy Story," spark conversation on the spectacle and politics all bodies unwittingly encompass -- which are too big, too small, which are worshipped, which are criticized, and how our cultural prejudices and stereotypes govern these ideals. 

In "Ridin' High," Davidson combines older works from the 1990s with newer sculptures, arranged like chaperones and amped up adolescents at a school dance. Coquettish lumps in corsets hover in one corner, as if immersed in delicious gossip. The newer works, soaring 11 feet into the air, resemble the raised platforms used to carry royalty through carnival processions. The platforms are supported by humongous legs, the kinds of 11-foot gams that elicit quite the "hubba hubba."

The exhibition both celebrates and criticizes our topsy turvy world where enlarging certain body parts goes in and out of style. "It started with breasts and then it was bulbous lips," Davidson said. "Remember when people put all sorts of stuff into their lips? It looked like they had had assholes on their faces!"

The absurdity and the artificiality is both hyperbolized and exalted in Davidson's seductive forms. What she achieves, through a striking mix of playfulness, humor, carnality and restraint, evokes the essence of bodily oomph that gets the blood pumping. 

Nancy Davidson's "Ridin' High" was recently on view at Lord Ludd in Philadelphia.

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Four years ago, Hurricane Sandy ripped through Rockaway Beach in New York, leaving individuals in southern Queens to clean up after a superstorm that damaged homes, businesses and civic landmarks all along the shoreline.

This summer, an artist from Berlin, Germany, is doing her small part to remind people in and outside of New York City that the destruction still looms large. 

Beginning on July 4, Katharina Grosse's contribution to MoMA PS1's "Rockaway!" series will be on view for beachgoers visiting Fort Tilden, a former United States Army installation on the Rockaway Peninsula. Then and there, patrons will be able to feast their eyes on a dilapidated building transformed by the power of spray paint.

Grosse's Rockaway work is reminiscent of her homage to Hurricane Katrina in 2008, when she spray-painted a damaged home in the Lower Ninth Ward with wildly bold splashes of orange and yellow. This year, she set her sights on a beach house marked for demolition near Fort Tilden, an area soon to be razed and restored with wind-stopping dunes and beach flora.

According to a rendering by Klaus Biesenbach, director at MoMA PS1, Grosse's house (once an aquatics building) will be spray-painted pink and orange in a display that resembles a massive, bleeding sunset. 

"Here’s a very beautiful found object," Biesenbach explained to The New York Times. "It has history as being a military fortress, as being ecologically changed because of the hurricane. Now it’s being restored to its natural habitat."

The National Park Service, the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy and the Rockaway Artists Alliance have partnered with MoMA PS1 to make this work happen. After the exhibition, conceived of by Biesenbach and Rockaway resident Patti Smith, the aquatics building will be demolished by the park service as part of its Hurricane Sandy recovery program, The Times reports.

See more of the yet-to-be-painted structure, which will be on view in full color from July 4 until Thanksgiving, below:

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Before Hawaii was annexed by the United States and became America's favorite vacation destination, it was a sovereign nation, reigned over by native Hawaiian ali'i (royalty).

Today, more than 120 years since the monarchy was in place, there are still many remnants of the crown throughout the state. Spots like Iolani Palace and Kaniakapupu ruins are well known, but one off-the-beaten path attraction is even more meaningful.

On the island of Oahu, the country's only royal cemetery sits just a short drive from downtown Honolulu, surrounded by palm trees and well-manicured green grass. Known in the Hawaiian language as Mauna 'Ala, meaning "fragrant mountain," the Royal Mausoleum is home to the remains of nearly all the monarchs of the Kingdom of Hawaii, as well as some of their family members and trusted friends.

The mausoleum might initially appear unassuming and modest -- if you didn't know about it, you may not give it a second glance -- but it's a powerful place and totally unique in both Hawaii and the U.S. 

Notably, it is the only place in Hawaii the U.S. still considers sovereign land -- where the flag of the Kingdom of Hawaii flies unaccompanied by the American flag.

The cemetery, which was built between 1863 and 1865, is comprised of a number of burial areas, including the Kalakaua Crypt and the Kamehameha Tomb -- where the royal descendants of King Kamehameha I are buried.

In native Hawaiian culture, iwi (bones) are considered sacred, so the resting place of the ali'i carries an especially significant meaning. It's the perfect opportunity to learn more about native Hawaiian culture and history, an aspect of Hawaii that often gets overshadowed by the obvious natural beauty of the islands and an ever-growing tourism industry.

So next time you need a break from sipping mai tais by the pool, head into Nu’uanu Valley. Mauna 'Ala is open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm.

If you can't make it to Hawaii, take a virtual tour of the grounds -- it's not nearly as good as real life, but everyone should have the chance to witness this sacred space:

We don’t know what you do for a living, but we do know you likely need a break. And, nearly halfway through the year, we’re challenging you (yes — busy, overworked, financially stretched you) to #TakeABreak. During the month of June, we’ll help you nail down how many vacation days you have at your disposal, figure out where to go, and plan a trip you can actually afford. For 30 days of travel tips, cheap flight hacks, vacation ideas and wanderlust galore, sign up for our Take A Break action plan here!

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Neanderthals don't have the best reputation when it comes to matters of complex thought and technical prowess.

Save for their skills handling bone tools, our ancient cousins, who occupied Eurasia around 200,000 to 30,000 years ago, are most often remembered for their signature brows and brutish behavior. However, a recent artistic discovery suggests our ancient ancestors were more advanced than most suspected.

Archaeologists excavating in the Bruniquel cave, near the Pyrénées mountains in southwest France, recently discovered a pair of mysterious stone rings built deep inside the cave. The dual structure is made from nearly 400 stalagmites, or mineral deposits, cut to a similar length of 16 centimeters and laid out in the shape of two oval rings.

The methodology behind the rings, created from chunks snapped from the cave floor, foreshadows the way dry stone walls are built today, with smaller pieces filling the gaps, The Telegraph explains. The purpose of the mysterious formation, however, remains unknown. One could speculate that the display resembles a sculpture garden, and that the strange configuration is an example of early art.

"This is completely different to anything we have seen before. I find it very mysterious," Marie Soressi, an archaeologist at Leiden University who was not involved in the research, explained to The Guardian.

Perhaps the most astounding aspect of the geometric structure is where it's located -- specifically, more than 1,000 feet from the cave's entrance, down winding tunnels and beyond the scope of natural light. Researchers believe the Neanderthal builders must have employed fire as a tool of illumination, and adapted to working in a hostile, underground environment. Fire damage on the walls confirm this idea, with blackened stalagmites on the structure suggesting the presence of a fireplace. 

Archaeologist Jacques Jaubert of France's University of Bordeaux led a series of complex dating tests on the structure, as reported in Nature. The results dated stalagmite tips and pieces of burnt bone in the walls back to approximately 175,000 years ago. This makes the enclosed architectural form one of the oldest known constructions created by humans. The structure remains in strong condition because the stalagmites became encased in calcium carbonate shortly after the walls were built, thus preserving them. Archaeologists postulate other structures might have existed but did not survive.

If this remarkable discovery has taught us anything, it's time to stop resorting to inaccurate stereotypes when recalling our premodern ancestors. Neanderthals weren't all grunts and bad hair. They harnessed fire, wore clothes, crafted tools, jewelry and artificial glue and potentially even buried their dead and adorned the graves with flowers. 

"Neanderthals were inventive, creative, subtle and complex," Jaubert summarized. "They were not mere brutes focused on chipping away at flint tools or killing bison for food." 

There you have it. It's time to show Neanderthals the respect they deserve, and that means those awful Geico commercials should finally come to an end.  

See the study in full here.

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Attention, YA readers past and present.

If you've ever had a secret fantasy of seeing your face immortalized in pastel colors dripping with high school melodrama and an ambiguous yearbook-style backdrop, your time has come. 

Yes, it's true. 

According to his website, James L. Mathewuse, the artist behind the "Sweet Valley High" book covers -- who's also dabbled with "Nancy Drew" and "Hardy Boys" series cover art -- takes requests. 

This means you could arrange to find your very own face dressed up in lip gloss and too much blush, hiding behind shaggy '80s bangs and an uneasy expression, just like your childhood heroes Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. 

For those unfamiliar with the "Sweet Valley High" legacy, the beloved series, written by Francine Pascal, tells the tales of twin sisters, Jessica and Elizabeth, identical in looks but opposite in personality. Together they attend high school in Sweet Valley, California, where they occasionally bump heads, switch places, and engage in other mischievous tween twin hijinks.

Tallahassee-based artist Mathewuse created the dreamy covers for over 250 of the legendary YA reads. His soft-hued images are now wildly nostalgic reminders of the days when high school was brimming with the promise of cute boys you'd bump into with your cafeteria tray at lunch and eventually win over at the local talent show. Or something. 

If all this is bringing you way back, hit up Mr. Mathewuse and he will paint your head and shoulders like the long lost Wakefield you've always felt you've been. To brainstorm potential poses, be sure to peruse Paperback Paradise, the best satirical Twitter account for all vintage paperback fanatics.

Portraits begin at $200, and consultations are free. This is real, people. Hop to it. 

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Cool girl JoJo Fletcher is post-Ben, single and ready to mingle ... with 26 software salesmen, Z-list musicians and an erectile dysfunction expert on "The Bachelorette."

In this week's "Here To Make Friends" podcast, hosts Claire Fallon and Emma Gray recap the second episode of Season 12. We'll discuss the appeal of firefighters, why "The Bachelorette" is TV's greatest sport and Chad's hot garbage MRA tendencies with opera singer, writer and former "Bachelor" contestant Sharleen Joynt. 

We'll also talk to Lifetime's "UnREAL" co-creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro and showrunner Carol Barbee about the second season of the show and how race plays out on reality TV.

Check out the full recap by listening to the podcast below!

Do people love "The Bachelor," "The Bachelorette" and "Bachelor in Paradise," or do they love to hate these shows? It's unclear. But here at "Here To Make Friends," we both love and love to hate them -- and we love to snarkily dissect each episode in vivid detail. Podcast edited by Nick Offenberg.

The best tweets about this week's episode of "The Bachelor"...

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Despite John Amos and Snoop Dogg’s strong disapproval of The History Channel’s remake of “Roots,” executive producer LeVar Burton says the reboot still resonates with today’s social issues.

In this week’s issue of People magazine, Burton says though it was “a different time” when he starred in the original 1977 series as Kunta Kinte, he’s “acutely aware” of the social implications of airing a remake in 2016, and hopes the show will create a deeper dialogue.

"I'm hoping we can create a conversation about race that is absent fear, anger, guilt and shame, and just deal honestly with what continues to hold us back." he told the magazine. "This is an opportunity."

Among those onboard to support Burton’s mission is Rev. Al. Sharpton, who has used his public platform -- ranging from his national syndicated radio show to his MSNBC talk show, “PoliticsNation” -- to help advance the conversation on the importance of "Roots" with viewers and listeners. 

"If we can create the conversation, [Roots] will not only get a wide viewership, it will evolve the discussions about race,” Sharpton told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month. “Hopefully, from yelling at each other to really talking about the pain and what we're going to do in the post-Obama era."

For Burton avoiding the implications of racial profiling by law enforcement is a much needed skill he has shared with his son.

"I roll down my window, take my hands and put them on the door of the car, because I want that approaching officer to be as relaxed and comfortable as he can be," Burton told People, "It's a survival skill. Being a black man in America is still a dangerous experience. That's simply a reality."

To read more of LeVar Burton’s interview, head over to People.com. The History Channel’s four-night series event of “Roots” will continue to air tonight, and simulcast on A&E and Lifetime.

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What happens to a sacred place when people no longer gather there to seek the divine? 

A lot of things, actually. 

As more people find spirituality outside of traditional church settings, some of the big, beautiful cathedrals, churches and synagogues that were once centers of community life are being repurposed into secular spaces. Their transformations are a reflection of the changes that have happened with religions in Western society.

Mainline Protestant Christian denominations, like the Anglican and Lutheran churches, once dominated the religious landscapes of both the United States and Northern Europe. But this tradition's share of the population has been declining sharply in recent decades. The Roman Catholic Church and Jewish synagogues have suffered losses as well, with attendance at religious services steadily declining. 

In addition, secularism is on the rise. The number of religiously unaffiliated adults who say they rarely or seldom attend worship services has grown rapidly in America over the past decade. In both Europe and North America, the unaffiliated are expected to continuing growing.

While some of the defunct sacred buildings these denominations leave behind are shuttered and abandoned, many have found new life in unexpected ways -- from a church-turned-bar in Dublin, Ireland to a Lower East Side synagogue in New York City that has morphed into a townhouse that you can now rent on AirBnb. 

Scroll down to see some of these remarkable transformations. 

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Geographical neighbors but political enemies, North and South Korea have had a deeply strained relationship ever since their division into individual states more than seven decades ago at the end of World War II. Nearly five years after the separation, the North invaded the South, sparking the three-year Korean War.

The countries' binational hostility is perpetuated by both governments. Seoul's controversial National Security Law forbids citizens from supporting the North in any way, and South Koreans can even face jail time for sharing pro-North content online.

Pyongyang has called its southern counterpart's cross-border broadcasting of its cultural K-Pop music a push “toward the brink of war.” The communist nation reacted earlier this year by floating exploding, garbage-filled balloons into southern territory. Tensions have only been worsened by North Korea's continued efforts to strengthen its internationally condemned nuclear program.

Despite their shared history and border, North and South Korean lifestyles have little in common. While the dictator-led North has a struggling economy and is globally isolated with limited diplomatic ties beyond China and a struggling economy, the South holds claim to Asia's fourth-largest economy and a world-class reputation as a technological innovator.

Photographer Jose Velasco explored both countries, documenting the contrasting scenes to highlight the stark differences between the two parallel societies. 

"They used to be one country, the two Koreas, but now they exist worlds apart," Velasco wrote in his photo essay for ViewFind. "With this project I tried to capture postcards of the differences and similarities between the two countries."

Check out his side-by-side photographs below, featuring South Korea on the left and North Korea on the right.

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