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Revealing Photos Show Us Just How Sexy An Older Woman Can Be

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Youth might be worshipped nowadays, but here at Huff/Post50, we think it's confidence that truly makes a person sexy ... no matter what their age. And there's no better proof of that than 73-year-old Nora.



The gorgeous septuagenarian is the subject of photographer Emily Stein's latest collection, "Hello I'm Nora." The series -- which captures Nora's beauty, confidence, style and sexuality -- aims to defy the notion that women become invisible as they age.


"As women we are always struggling to accept our looks, no matter what we look like and whatever age we are," Stein told The Huffington Post. For Nora, that acceptance is still a work in progress. "Now she is older, she tries to re-invent herself, to make herself useful in society, trying not to disappear."


The beautiful photos, including some of Nora rocking lingerie, were crafted "to celebrate Nora in all her glory," said Stein, who met Nora, a neighbor, by chance while walking down the street. 


Women, she says, don't realize how amazing they truly are, and instead succumb to the pressures in media and magazines. 


"We all tend to be a bit insecure about our looks, and as we age this continues," Stein said. "It would be great if we could try to accept ourselves
and that we are all unique and beautiful in our own ways."


Let Nora be your inspiration.



 


 


 


 

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Let Her Teach You How To Be Hideous

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Spooked? No doubt about it.


This self-taught body artist from Balwyn North, Melbourne, can take up to six hours to transform herself into the creepy monster in the photos below.


Inspired by Cirque du Soleil and Tim Burton characters, Lara Wirth, 16, says she sometimes goes out in full monster make-up to shock unsuspecting customers at a local supermarket.


Not cool, Lara.


LOOK:


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Disney Princesses Become New Moms In Sweet Series Of Drawings

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A creative series of drawings shows Disney princesses tackling a new challenge: motherhood.


Artist Kristen Reeves drew Ariel, Belle, Jasmine and Rapunzel as new moms holding their babies. The artist, who has an 18-month-old son, was inspired by her own life.



"I really love drawing Disney characters in a different way than you'd expect," Reeves told The Huffington Post, adding, "I was pregnant with my son when I did these drawings, so motherhood was something I was thinking a lot about."


For this series, the artist started with her personal favorite Disney princesses, Ariel and Rapunzel, and then added two more to make an even four. Still, she says she's received so many requests to do more drawings that she plans to add another four Disney princess moms later this year. "I'd love to do Elsa, Anna, and maybe Pocahontas, Mulan or Tiana," she said.


Reeves wants her series to bring happiness to viewers. "I hope people have fun imagining these characters we know so well doing something different than what we're used to," she said. "These drawings were very fun to create and I hope people find as much joy in them as I do."



H/T A Plus

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The Gay Young Adult Audiobook Of The Summer Is A Must-Listen

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Tim Federle knows a thing or two about storytelling in a variety of mediums.


Prior to establishing himself as an indelible voice in middle-grade and young adult literature, the award-winning author of Better Nate Than Ever and Five, Six, Seven, Nate! performed in the Broadway productions of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "The Little Mermaid," among other musicals. So it's no surprise that Federle's wit and self-deprecating humor are just as delightful on his self-narrated audiobooks as they are on the page.


In the exclusive video above, the 36-year-old explains his passion for the form in celebration of Audiobook Month in June. 


"They tell a story that moves you, entertains you and also gives you a different point of view than you're able to sometimes have reading the text yourself," Federle, who produced the video as part of "A Good Audiobook Speaks Volumes," a new initiative spurred by the Audio Publishers Association, says in the clip. 


In fact, the author says the experience of recording his debut audiobook for 2013's Better Nate Than Ever changed his approach to writing his subsequent books, including 2016's The Great American Whatever, his first foray into young adult fiction. Both novels feature gay protagonists at varying stages of self-discovery and acceptance. 


"I've come to really respect the narrated word and what it feels like to get told a story personally in my ears," Federle, who listens to audiobooks often when he's getting ready in the morning, says. "It's a very intimate thing, actually."


You can listen to a snippet of The Great American Whatever audiobook below.





Now there's really no excuse for not picking up a book by your favorite author this summer (you can find a few great suggestions here). Grab an audiobook and get listening! 

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28 Moving Photos That Capture The Emotional Intimacy Of Birth

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From the pain of labor to the bliss of meeting your newborn baby, birth is an incredibly emotional experience.


Canadian birth photographer Ashley Marston knows this all too well.


Marston shared some of her favorite photos with The Huffington Post, and they are, put simply, powerful. Continue scrolling for raw images that capture joy, anxiety, perseverance and most of all, love. 


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Why John Leguizamo Doesn't Want His Kids To Go Into Show Biz

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John Leguizamo loves his craft, but he doesn't love the business. 


The actor, whose career spans more than three decades, shared his thoughts on the entertainment industry in AARP The Magazine's June/July issue. He broke down some of the reasons he hopes his children don't follow in his footsteps:



I wouldn’t want my kids doing what I do. I love the art form but not the business. There’s a lot of superficiality. The way women are judged – they have an expiration date. It’s ridiculous. Or you’re too tall, too short. I wouldn’t mind my kids becoming playwrights or screenwriters. Then it’s about the work, not the B.S.



The 51-year-old star frequently speaks out about the challenges he's faced in Hollywood, particularly as a Latino. During a 2015 interview at the Sundance Film Festival, Leguizamo explained that he first ventured into one-man shows, like his HBO special "Ghetto Clown," because of the limited opportunities that existed in show business for Latinos. 


“It was an antidote to the system, to the Hollywouldn’t-ness of it all," he said. "You know? And it was that, because I didn’t want to be a drug dealer or a murderer for the rest of my life. That’s not me, that’s not my people.”


Leguizamo also briefly spoke to AARP about growing older and his feelings on aging. 


“I know. I don’t look it.  Everybody thinks I’m in my early 40s, but I feel my age, 51," he said. "Even a house starts getting rickety after 50 years. There’s a lot more maintenance. Before I train at the gym, I have to do a half-hour of pretraining. But it’s OK. There’s wisdom that comes with time. You get a macro view of the world and more compassion. Look at Shakespeare’s later plays.  They all end in forgiveness, even though they shouldn’t." 


Read more from the AARP interview here.

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Gina Rodriguez Has The Perfect Response To Question About Her Sexuality

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Anyone who follows "Jane the Virgin" star Gina Rodriguez on Twitter knows she often answers questions and sprinkles followers with words of encouragement and wisdom throughout the day. 


And the actress made an affair of her tradition on Tuesday afternoon, asking fans to use hashtag #askgina to, well, ask Gina anything. Rodriguez answered fun questions, like who her celebrity crush is or what her favorite Puerto Rican food is, but she didn't shy away from more personal questions, either. 


One Twitter user, @Ay-rayray_, asked Rodriguez about her sexuality, and her response was priceless:










BOOM. Drop mic. Next question.

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Andrew Lloyd Weber Donates $1.3 Million To Underfunded Art Programs

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Someone deserves a standing ovation.


The Andrew Lloyd Weber Foundation announced it will donate $1.3 million to the American Theatre Wing — the founder of the Tony Awards – which will distribute the money to underfunded schools in the U.S.


Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones used both their fabulously distinctive voices to make the announcement on June 12 during the 2016 Tony Awards.


“The first performance I had of any of my shows was at a college in [New Jersey] and that was where 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' was performed for the first time in 1970. And I remember being paid for it by the school,” Webber, who is the composer of iconic musicals such as "Phantom of the Opera," "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Cats," said backstage after the Tonys.


Weber also added in a press release: “Disgracefully the arts have too often borne the brunt of short-sighted cuts to educational budgets.”


Weber’s foundation has boosted similar programs in his native U.K. and decided to do the same in the U.S. due to concerns with budget cuts for arts education.


The three-year grant called the “Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative” is also a response to an Americans for the Arts report that found that black and Hispanic students get less than half the access to arts education that their white peers do.


The money will be used to buy public schools instruments, dance floors, lighting grids and other materials that will help create new theater programs and help existing ones thrive. The funds will also go toward sending talented students to after school and summer programs, and providing some with four-year partial university scholarships.


Weber, who told The New York Times that his mother was a music teacher and his brother heads a conservatory, wants his initiative to focus on music.


“Music in education is vital,” he told NYT. “Music is vital because it is a common language – a common empowering denominator.”

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Meet The Kilroys, A Gang Of Women Fighting For Gender Parity In Theater

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Where are all the women playwrights?


According to the Dramatists Guild of America, only 22 percent of the plays being produced in the United States are written by women. Perhaps a stronger way of communicating this statistic is through the words of playwright Marsha Norman: "In regard to gender parity, if life worked the way the theater does, four out of every five things you heard would be said by men."


Other stats are more depressing: American Theatre Magazine reported that in the 2015-2016 season, only 21 percent of the 1,914 produced plays were written by women. "It’s not anyone’s feeling that women are underrepresented," playwright Lisa Kron explained before the season even began. "It’s a fact; it’s in the numbers."


What lies behind these numbers, though, is a very real field of women writing plays, many of which are un-produced or under-produced. The Kilroys, a self-described gang of female and trans playwrights, are well aware of this field of women. In fact, every year, they shine a light on the many female and gender nonconforming writers who are overlooked by the statistics above -- and deserve your attention.



If you've ever heard a director or executive utter the words, "Oh, we want to produce plays by women, we just can’t find them," you're familiar with the painfully frustrating feedback loop that is representation in entertainment. Women playwrights exist, they're just facing a kind of systemic underrepresentation familiar to those working in TV, film or music. 


Bekah Brunstetter and Daria Polatin, co-founders of The Kilroys, are very aware of this loop. To disrupt it, they helped initiate The List, an annual industry survey of new plays by female and trans playwrights that's meant to function as a tool for producers committed to achieving gender parity in their industry. 


"We were inspired by Franklin Leonard’s Black List, a Hollywood list of un-produced screenplays," Polatin explained in a phone interview with The Huffington Post. "We wanted to make a very practical tool for producers. So we thought, we’ll survey leaders in our industry and we’ll take the most recommended plays and we’ll make a list and we’ll make them available."



The premise is simple and the results are accessible. Each year, the group surveys influential play leaders -- artistic directors, literary managers, professors, producers, and dramaturgs; basically, anyone who has read or seen at least 40 new plays in the past year, and is not already a member of The Kilroys. Each leader anonymously nominates a number of plays they feel should be included in The List, and the most recommended plays (in 2016, these plays received between 5 and 14 nominations each) make it to the final cut.


In 2014, The List consisted of 46 plays. In 2015, there were 53. In 2016, there are 32, out of a total 569 plays nominated. Roundups of honorable mentions have accompanied each list (in 2016, there are 88).


"We want it to be a tool," Brunstetter clarified to HuffPost. "So what is the most easy to use tool? It has to be a strong, yet palatable, list of plays that an artistic director or literary manager or development executive can reasonably get through."



While in past years, The List has included not only un-produced but under-produced plays (pieces that experienced a single production), The Kilroys opted to change things up in 2016. This year's list only showcases un-produced works including "The Art of Gaman" by Dipika Guha, "School Girls: Or the African Mean Girls Play" by Jocelyn Bioh, "Pass Over" by Antoinette Nwandu, "Somebody's Daughter" by Chisa Hutchinson, and "Welcome to Fear City" by Kara Lee Corthron.


"We thought, why don’t we dig deeper and bring more attention to plays and playwrights who could use even more exposure?" Polatin said. "We’re unique in the fact that we’re a dynamic group. We’ll change, and continue to change, in response to the needs of the industry."


And change they have. Beyond The List, The Kilroys have started another survey, one that asked playwrights from the 2014 and 2015 lists to answer a few questions, like: Have you seen an increase in requests for your recognized play or others? Has your agent received more requests? Has your recognized play seen a production or a workshop? 



According to Polatin and Brunstetter, 80 percent of the plays on past Lists are now produced or have received a subsequent production, and 95 percent of the playwrights said they received more personal requests. What's more, a handful of different theaters have set up reading festivals based on The List, and both Polatin and Brunstetter, who are playwrights and television writers themselves, have heard of people from the broader entertainment industry using The List as a tool to find new writers for their shows or projects.


"A lot of development executives from TV and film companies use The List to introduce themselves to new writers and find new voices," they said.


The Kilroys also started a Cake Drop program, in which they surprise theaters that exemplify gender parity in their programming with -- you guessed it --cake. "They had at least 50/50 or better programming of female or trans writers to male," Polatin explained. "And we surprised them one day by giving them cake, to say thank you and 'We love what you’re doing.'"


They've dropped cakes at 13 theaters total, including Center Stage in Baltimore, Company One in BostonMagic Theater in San Francisco, and The Echo theater in Los Angeles. "And we gave a sort of honorable shoutout to the Women’s Project, who only does female programming, for their lifelong achievement of honoring female playwrights," Polatin added. "We gave them pizza and beer."



Since 2014, Polatin and Brunstetter said they have experienced a spike in the number of nominators taking part in The List and the number of nominated plays eligible for recognition, partially due to the fact that they invited people to request to be a nominator for 2016's list.


And, according to information put together by member Annah Feinberg, a third of the writers on this year’s list don’t have agents. "That’s an indication that our desire to do un-produced plays this year was a good experiment,"Brunstetter said. "For women, it’s often all about access. And if you don’t have an agent, there’s just stuff you can’t get to. So hopefully being on The List gives you the confidence you need to write that next plays that gets you an agent, or mention [your inclusion on The List] to an agent."


"I know personally, from being a writer, that you need those votes of confidence," Polatin added. "Especially early in your career. When your play gets an award or makes a list or gets into a festival, that’s literally the little thing you need to keep writing your plays."


View the complete 2016 List here.

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'The Bachelorette' Season 12, Episode 5: Trust No Chad

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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 fifth episode of Season 12 -- aka The End Of The Chad. We'll discuss Chad's exit and his enduring social media legacy, Alex's many insecurities, and the infamous In Touch article about JoJo's ex. 





We're also joined by "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" star Vella Lovell, for her stellar "Bachelorette" commentary and some tidbits about season 2 of "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." 


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 Bachelorette"...

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Brilliant Writers Describe The Dangers Of Donald Trump As Only They Can

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Several writers better known for their literary contributions have ventured into the political arena recently to denounce presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. With their words, they've issued evocative warnings.


J.K. Rowling declared Trump "fascist in all but name" in an essay titled "On Monsters, Villains and the EU Referendum," which was posted on her website this week.


"Look towards the Republican Party in America and shudder. 'Make America Great Again!' cries a man who is fascist in all but name," she wrote. "His stubby fingers are currently within horrifyingly close reach of America's nuclear codes. He achieved this pre-eminence by proposing crude, unworkable solutions to complex threats. Terrorism? 'Ban all Muslims!' Immigration? 'Build a wall!' He has the temperament of an unstable nightclub bouncer, jeers at violence when it breaks out at his rallies and wears his disdain for women and minorities with pride. God help America. God help us all."


Rowling had already made her opinion of Trump clear back in December with a devastating comparison to Harry Potter's great foe. "Voldemort was nowhere near as bad" as Trump, she tweeted.


Last month, hundreds of other writers -- including Diana Abu-Jaber, Michael Chabon, Junot Díaz, Rita Dove, Jennifer Egan, Stephen King and Maxine Hong Kingston -- signed an "An Open Letter to the American People" opposing Trump.


As writers, they said, "we are particularly aware of the many ways that language can be abused in the name of power."


Dave Eggers, who also signed that letter, attended one of Trump's rallies earlier this month, seeking to better understand the people who support him.


"Believing that Trump’s supporters are all fascists or racists is a grave mistake," Eggers wrote in The Guardian last week. "This day in Sacramento presented a different picture, of a thousand or so regular people who thought it was pretty cool how Trump showed up in a plane with his name on it. How naughty it was when he called the president 'stupid.'"


"Americans who have voted for Trump in the primaries have done so not because they agree with all, or any, of his statements or promises, but because he is an entertainment," Eggers continued. "He is a loud, captivating distraction and a very good comedian ... The moment he ceases to entertain – to say crazy shit – he will evaporate."


Garrison Keillor described Trump in a widely syndicated essay last week as "the C-minus guy who sat behind you in history and poked you with his pencil and smirked when you asked him to stop." The "Prairie Home Companion" creator said Trump doesn't have any kind of philosophy, "just an attitude."


Pointing to Trump's self-congratulatory tweets after a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub, Keillor doubted that Republicans could teach Trump any humility.


"The dreamers in the Republican Party imagine that success will steady him and he will come into the gravitational field of reality but it isn't happening. The Orlando tweets show it: the man does not have a heart," Keillor wrote.


And if Trump wins the presidential election?


"If the man is not defeated, then we are not the country we imagine we are. All of the trillions spent on education was a waste. The churches should close up shop. The nation that elects this man president is not a civilized society," wrote Keillor.


"The gentleman is not airing out his fingernail polish, he is not showing off his wedding ring; he is making an obscene gesture. Ignore it at your peril."


Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liarrampant xenophoberacistmisogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S. 

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Lots Of Parents Are Naming Babies After Clinton, Trump… And 'Hamilton''

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It seems that this year's presidential election is influencing parents in ways beyond political activism and baby fashion choices. Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are apparently providing baby name inspiration as well.


BabyCenter analyzed the roughly 115,000 baby names registered on the site and found that the name Hillary increased 142 percent in popularity since this time last year. The names Bill, Chelsea and Charlotte rose 113 percent, 18 percent and 17 percent respectively.


According to a press release from BabyCenter, the name Donald also rose in popularity but only by eight percent. Melania is up 36 percent, and Ivanka increased by four percent. 


Bernie Sanders does not appear to have had the same effect, as the name Bernard fell 50 percent, and no new baby Bernies appeared in the BabyCenter database.


"A presidential election is a big deal, and new parents who choose names like Hillary and Donald are placing a bet that their new baby will share the name of the next American president," Linda Murray, BabyCenter Global Editor in Chief, stated in the press release.


"In a sense, they’re already voting for their favorite candidate. Time will tell whether they picked a winner or the next John Kerry or Mitt Romney," she added.


BabyCenter's analysis also found some potential baby name influence in the hit Broadway musical, "Hamilton." Since last June, the name Hamilton has increased almost 60 percent in popularity. Meanwhile Jefferson is up 171 percent, James rose 25 percent, George increased by 21 percent and Maria is up almost 22 percent.


"The combination of 'Hamilton’s' success and the election year has parents feeling patriotic," Murray explained, adding, "When parents reach into history to select a leader’s name for their child, it’s usually because they feel inspired by that person’s values and legacy. The Broadway show’s multi-ethnic, cross-culture story speaks to millennial parents. Hamilton is the new Lincoln or Madison."


For more information about these findings, visit BabyCenter.


Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liarrampant xenophoberacistmisogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S. 

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How Incarcerated Youth Are Making Their Voices Heard Through Art

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In 2001, artist Lauren Adelman and juvenile defender Francine Sherman began offering art workshops to girls incarcerated at the Spectrum Detainment Center in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The goal was to empower these young women, so often unseen and unheard, through creative expression. 


Fifteen years later, this workshop has blossomed into what's now known as Artistic Noise, a program designed to bring visual arts practice and entrepreneurial skills to young people who are incarcerated, on probation, or somehow involved in the justice system. An exhibition entitled "Infinite Revolution," on view this summer, will celebrate the immense artistic talent of the individuals involved in the Artistic Noise community, and their bold spirits that refuse to be muffled. 


"So much of what we do and what we’re focused on is give kids who are often silent a way to have their voices heard and their stories told," Adelman explained to The Huffington Post. "Whether they are physically removed from society or just don’t feel like they have a voice, through art they are making this visual noise."



Since its inception, Artistic Noise has expanded to instruct both boys and girls in New York as well as Boston, using four distinct elements of programming embedded within the Artistic Noise umbrella. There are studio art workshops, in which young people in lock-up are engaged in long term artistic projects using unorthodox materials and techniques, often revolving around a single theme relevant to their lives. There are art therapy workshops, in which certified Art Therapists work with youth on probation in both individual and group settings, using creative expression to coax buried feelings and thoughts into the open under professional supervision. 


"Detention was horrible," one artist explained in a video compilation made by Artistic Noise. "The food was horrible. Being in there, you’re like an animal caged in all day. You just get everything taken away. The only thing that kept me going was when Artistic Noise came in. That was the only thing I looked forward to doing."



For older and more experienced artists, the Art, Entrepreneurship and Curatorial Program offers an intensive curriculum for individuals interested in pursuing art professionally. The program allows young people to hone their artistic skills, collaborate with their peers, curate art shows, and sell original work. These selected participants are responsible for curating the Artistic Noise annual art show, as well as selecting which artworks should be used for marketable products to eventually benefit the organization. 


The program looks out for those who are released from detention centers with no resources, no help, no experience, and no guidance. As one artist who went on to work for Artistic Noise explained: "When I got out of lock up I was 18, I didn’t have a job, I had an adult record. They were like, okay, we’re going to hire you. It gives you that chance to turn your life around, to be a part of the community. And also give back to the community."


Finally, in 2012, Adelman began a Youth Leadership Development Program, with the hopes that one day, those who participated in Artistic Noise could eventually lead it. This program teaches Artistic Noise graduates how to be mentors, helpers, and advocates, training them to be assistant teachers to the next generation of young artists. 



"We want them to be able to say, 'Hey, look at me, we’re human beings, we have great things to say, we have a lot to contribute to society,'" Adelman continued. "This is their way of taking control and finding power within themselves."


The artwork featured in "Infinite Revolution" is raw, vulnerable, powerful and courageous, addressing pressing contemporary issues from police brutality and women in the media to the daily sadness of missing home. 


One group piece, titled "Figures of Authority," examines the various authority figures that make up our world, from police officers to the president of the United States to security guards, judges, lawyers and case workers. Questions of what power is, how it is used and abused, are translated into striking swaths of black and white pigment, sprinkled with glitter.


"So many people abuse their power and call themselves a figure of authority," one artist, Ebony, explains in a statement. "Real people in REAL positions of power help lift you up. They get you where they are mentally and physically. There is enough room at the top for everyone."



Another work, titled "I am Woman," by artist Briana, takes inspiration from Hank Willis Thomas' recent series "Unbranded," examining how a century of advertisements have shaped our conception of what a woman is.


"My piece is called 'I Am Woman' because women are used in advertisements for their bodies to make a product look sexy so people want to purchase the item," Briana wrote. "The media is only interested in their bodies and not their brain or who they really are. Also, a woman’s body is stereotypically supposed to be a certain size. The media only portrays White women who are small and skinny as beautiful, but this is not true. I combined a White woman who is small and skinny with a Black woman who is thick and curvy. Their heads are combined and bigger than their bodies to take attention away from their bodies and place the attention onto their heads to show women are more than their bodies. Let’s instead think about women’s intelligence and what they have to say."



In another one of Briana's works, titled "Sandra. Why?" she grapples with the unjust death of Sandra Bland following her arrest over a minor traffic violation in 2015. Rendered in the style of Mickalene Thomas, Briana depicts a smiling Brand amidst a vibrant pink backdrop, with question marks floating ominously throughout. 


"The title of my painting is 'Sandra. Why?'" the artist expressed. "This project was brought about from The New Jim Crow book. It states, 'from 1997 to 2007 the number of women in prison has increased by 8,332 percent.' This quote stood out to me because females now are being arrested for unjust reasons. Most people have misconceptions about crimes that aren't true. For example, people believe that people in jail deserve to be in jail, that jails treat people humanely and that jail is just a way of punishment. I chose Sandra Bland as the focus of my piece to prove this. She was arrested for a driving ticket, then mysteriously died in lock up. She didn’t deserve to be there in the first place. She died for no reason."


Artistic Noise shows just how powerful art is -- not just as a pastime but as a tool, as a path, as a means of survival. Clearly, it is no average art studio. "A prison is very different from an art studio," Adelman said. "So we're creating a new space for creativity and risk taking, so everyone gets heard."


See the artists of Artistic Noise in "Infinite Revolution" on view from June 23 to June 26, 2016 at Commons Gallery in New York




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Best Dad Ever Gets Son’s Scar From Cancer Tattooed In Same Place

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A father got the mother of all tattoos.


In an effort to boost his son's self-esteem, Josh Marshall got a tattoo that matches his son's scar from surgery to remove a brain tumor.


A picture of the two donning their matching scars while snuggling has not only won Marshall first place in a Father’s Day photo competition, but it’s also gone viral


“It just started as a friendly competition for Father’s Day and then it just blew up. It’s really weird,” Marshall told The Huffington Post. “But it’s raising awareness for childhood cancer, and that’s all that really matters.” 





In March 2015, Gabriel was diagnosed with a form of cancer called anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare malignant brain tumor. The boy, now 8, underwent surgery to have the tumor removed and was left with a scar on the right side of his head. According to a Facebook post by Gabriel’s mom, ‎Bethany Shultz, the scar made her son feel “self conscious.”





So Marshall decided to get a matching scar tattooed in the same spot on his head.


“I told [Gabriel] if people wanted to stare, they could stare at both of us,” Marshall told Buzzfeed.


On Father’s Day, Marshall decided to enter St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s #BestBaldDad competition -- a contest that takes submissions from dads, uncles and grandfathers who have shaved their head in a show of solidarity for a child who has had cancer.


Marshall entered the snapshot of him and Gabriel snuggling as they show off their matching scars:





“Got my son's scar tattooed to help his self confidence,” Marshall’s June 10 entry reads.


“Thank you for your entry. That's really sweet of you to tattoo his scar,” the foundation said in its response to Marshall.


On June 19, St. Baldrick’s Foundation announced that Marshall had won first place with 5,000 votes.




Since Marshall's big win, his photo with Gabriel has been shared all over social media. According to his dad, Gabriel is thrilled by their new viral fame.


"He feels really happy and excited,” Marshall told HuffPost.


Yet, despite all the attention, Marshall remains humble, posting on Facebook after his win:


“I would like to thank everyone for helping make this happen it's an honor to be titled 2016's ‪#‎BestBaldDad, but the truth is I'm no better then any of the other contestants. We are all great fathers that would go to any extent to help our children, so in my eyes we're all winners! Hope you all have a great week and a happy father's day to all you men making a difference in your children's lives!”

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See The Trailer For Nate Parker's Buzzy Slave-Rebellion Biopic 'The Birth Of A Nation'

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"The Birth of a Nation" will probably be one of fall's most talked-about movies. At Sundance in January, studios' fierce bidding war resulted in the film festival's costliest sale in history. "Birth" also won one of Sundance's grand jury prizes and an audience award, as well as a smattering of early Oscar buzz. 


The movie's first full trailer is now online, showcasing Nate Parker's directorial debut about an 1830s slave rebellion. Parker, who also wrote the script and produced "Birth," stars as Nat Turner, the preacher who led the insurrection after understanding the scope of slavery's effects.


The supporting cast includes Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Aunjanue Ellis, Penelope Ann Miller, Gabrielle Union and Jackie Earle Haley. "The Birth of a Nation" opens Oct. 7.  




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This Toddler Is Already A Star On The Drums

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It looks like we have a future drumming sensation on our hands.


In a video posted on the Facebook page Because of Them We Can by Eunique Jones, a boy showed off his best moves on the drums while bobbing his head and maintaining some contagious enthusiasm. According to the video's caption, the little drumming pro is 1-year-old LJ, who is the mastermind behind the featured music. 


"It's incredible that 1-year-old LJ created his own melody, but his reaction to hearing his song ... absolutely adorable," the caption reads.


Thanks to his drumming talent, LJ's performance has been viewed more than a million times in one day. 


Someone get this kid on a stage already.

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Since You Asked, Yes, Goat Testicles Do Cure Impotency

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"Brinkey would put goat testicles inside an impotent man, and nine months later, that man would call himself a father." 


You'll have to watch this clip (exclusive to The Huffington Post) from the new documentary "Nuts!" to understand just how effective one eccentric Kansas doctor's goat-gland procedure was in curing erectile dysfunction. He had celebrity clients! 


Directed by Penny Lane ("Our Nixon"), "Nuts!" peremiered to rave reviews at Sundance in January. The movie opens in New York on Wednesday and expands to additional cities this summer. 




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Watch This Artist Carve A Watermelon Into The Night King From 'Game Of Thrones'

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Dessert is coming.


In the time-lapse video above, Italian fruit carver extraordinaire Valeriano Fatica transforms an ordinary watermelon into a totally sweet bust of the Night King from "Game of Thrones."


Fatica says this particular carving took 18 hours from start to finish. And while the artist could have chosen any edible canvas -- he once crafted the Joker from a pumpkin -- the fleshy watermelon offers a fantastic depiction of the Night King's icy glare.





Got a little something in your nose there.

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Rare Photos Of Marilyn Monroe, Taken By The Man Who Fell In Love With Norma Jeane

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It sounds like the beginnings of a mid-century romance novel: Once upon a time in 1945, Transylvania-born photographer Andre de Dienes was looking for a muse. He had briefly moved to Hollywood from New York City in search of a model willing to pose for his experimental nude projects. And it was only after many unsuccessful calls to modeling agencies that a girl named Norma Jeane Baker walked into his life.


Baker had reportedly been camping out at Blue Book Modeling Agency's office, laser-focused on jump-starting a career in Hollywood, so they sent her over. A mere 19 years old, Baker was described by de Dienes in a memoir as a "miracle" that happened to him and a "sexy looking angel." As predictable as a romance novel, he fell in love with her at first sight. So instead of asking her to pose nude, de Dienes invited Norma (whom he'd been told was married, but separated from her husband) on a five-week trip through California, Nevada, Arizona and Oregon, that would -- of course -- end in an engagement.



So the rest of the story goes, de Dienes returned to New York after that first trip, with hopes of continuing their relationship. Eventually, though, he found out that Baker had rebranded herself as Marilyn Monroe -- and was intent on remaining a single actress. The engagement ended. Nevertheless, in 1946, de Dienes once again asked Monroe to travel with him, this time to a beach in Malibu to take photos for a book of poetry and philosophy. She agreed.


Fast forward three years, and Monroe was well on her way to becoming a celebrity. During a visit to New York, she got in touch with de Dienes, leading to a photo shoot on Tobay Beach on Long Island. In her 20s, de Dienes described her as "a magnificent, elegant young woman, sophisticated like [he had] never seen her before," yet his photos tended to portray the former Norma Jeane as a casual beachgoer, hair wind-blown and face perpetually angelic. They would shoot together for the last time in 1953, in a dark valley in Beverly Hills, working off the light of de Dienes' headlights. 


Monroe died in 1962, still allegedly in touch with de Dienes, though she'd remarried and had been involved with other men since they met.



Their story is a charming one, particularly when some of the more unforgiving details of their relationship are omitted. According to de Dienes' own account of that first trip, Monroe slept in the back of his modified Buick, in a space dubbed her "little cage." "Norma Jeane laughed like crazy when I told her she would become my little slave and prisoner," de Dienes darkly recounted in his memoir, "that I might even buy a long thin chain to attach one end of to her ankle and the other end to the car!" It was later rumored that de Dienes' anger got in the way of their relationship.


"Always thinking of his early photographs as the turning point in her career, in 1960 he sent her two letters berating her for never acknowledging him for launching her to to fame," Steven Kasher Gallery, the gallery hosting "Andre de Dienes: Marilyn and California Girls" this month and next, wrote in an exhibition description. "It is difficult to say if it was the fact that she never credited him for her success which upset him or if his anger was the result of her continued rejection of his affection."



Later in life, de Dienes, who published over 20 books of nude photos over his career, lived like a recluse. Many of his photos of Monroe remained hidden in his garage for decades until his wife Shirley T. Ellis de Dienes, a former model who posed nude for her husband, discovered the stash of prints five years after his 1985 death. Thanks to Shirley and author Steve Crist, the collection of rare images of Monroe are now on view at Steven Kasher Gallery, giving viewers a glimpse into one of the actresses' first relationships in Hollywood.


While there's no point in crediting de Dienes for Monroe's fame -- she, extremely driven and unafraid, was the key to her own success -- it's interesting to fathom what her life would have been like without that first encounter with a lone Austro-Hungarian photographer.



"Andre de Dienes: Marilyn and California Girls" is on view at Steven Kasher Gallery from June 9 to July 30, 2016. The exhibition features more than 50 lifetime prints from de Dienes’ two most famous series, "Marilyn Monroe" and "California nudes."




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How A Remembrance Tattoo Helped One Mom Heal After Miscarriage

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A woman who experienced pregnancy loss hopes her miscarriage remembrance tattoo will inspire more people to talk about a topic that can be taboo.


About two weeks ago, when Joan Bremer was seven weeks along in her pregnancy, she started experiencing some light bleeding and cramping. After two days of tests, doctors confirmed it was a miscarriage.


In the nearly three days it took for Bremer to physically recover from the miscarriage, she thought about getting a remembrance tattoo, as she and her husband had gotten tattoos together after their wedding.


"I thought it would be nice to mark this life experience as well with some more body art," she told The Huffington Post. "Even though it was devastating to us, I wanted to be able to remember it in some way, while still healing and moving on."



Bremer searched for design ideas online until she found one that truly resonated with her. "I liked how it was one solid line, which reminded me of an umbilical cord," she said. "I also thought the two hearts could represent me and the baby that I lost."


"My husband and I do like to think it represents the baby that we will always carry in our hearts, even while moving forward in our life as a couple and hopeful family," she added.


Bremer, who lives in the Bay Area, went to Joseph James at California Electric Tattoo in Soquel to bring her vision to reality.


Not quite ready to share the tattoo and its meaning with friends and family on Facebook, Bremer then decided to share her photo and story somewhat more anonymously on Imgur. She was "floored" by the responses.



"So many people posted their own stories, and it really made it feel like my husband and I were less alone in this experience," said Bremer. "It also gave me a lot of hope to see all the comments regarding successful pregnancies after a loss. It's hard not to think that something might be wrong, or I didn't take care of myself correctly and caused this, but seeing everyone's stories made it much easier for me to understand."


Eventually, she wrote about her loss in a personal Facebook post and received several messages of gratitude from old friends and acquaintances she hadn't spoken to in years.


"Most of them said they have experienced miscarriages themselves, but were to ashamed or embarrassed to speak to people about it," Bremer said. "Someone told me that they never had an answer to 'When are you going to have kids?' because they just didn't know how to bring up the fact that they had a pregnancy loss."



Though Bremer wasn't expecting such an overwhelming response, she told HuffPost she's happy she was able to promote conversation around pregnancy loss.


"Miscarriages are so common, but no one likes to speak about it," she said, adding, "But I wish we would more. Being able to talk about it, share with other women, and hear other people's experiences has been extremely healing for me."


"I've had several people call me 'brave' for sharing this," Bremer continued. "But to be honest, I don't feel brave -- I just feel like a normal person who didn't mind talking about this life experience. I hope that this will help other people heal in their own way."


Beautiful message.

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