Oklahoma has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1968, and this year’s result was no different. Donald Trump won 65.3% of the state’s vote. 

A powerful work of public art mounted in Oklahoma City on Sunday addresses those who gave credence to the racist, xenophobic and misogynistic language that dominated the president-elect’s campaign.

The piece, by street artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, pays homage to black Americans, Muslim Americans, American women, Latino Americans, and American immigrants ― all the populations deemed “other” and so loudly forsaken by the dangerous rhetoric of Trump’s camp.

“After the election, I immediately knew I wanted to make some public art during my trip to Oklahoma in a few weeks for Thanksgiving,” the artist wrote in a comment in Instagram. “I wanted to make something in a very Republican state that was a challenge to whiteness. So, I used a couple of recent drawings, one old drawing, and a drawing I did the day before installing this of my mother, to put together a diverse group of folks.” 

The piece reads: “America is black. It is Native. It wears a hijab. It is a Spanish speaking tongue. It is migrant. It is a woman. It is here. Has been here. And it’s not going anywhere.”

“This piece was done specifically to challenge whiteness and the accepted idea of who an American is,” Fazlalizadeh wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. “This work is located in Oklahoma, a very red, Republican state. The site of this piece is just as important to its intent. This work is declaring that people who are non-white and male are a part of this country, are integral to this country, and are not going anywhere.”

The election of Donald Trump has ignited incensed artists and writers around the country, turning creatives into activists. Fazlalizadeh, however, used her artistic prowess to fight social injustice long before Trump was announced president elect. 

Fazlalizadeh is best known for her project “Stop Telling Women to Smile,” which highlighted and combated the gender-based street harassment endured by so many around the world. The public artworks juxtapose images of women with the words they wish they could lodge at those who catcalled them, including “My name is not Baby” and “Women are not outside for your entertainment.”

If you are in the Oklahoma City area and wish to see Fazlalizadeh’s work in person, don’t hesitate; the piece, installed using wheatpaste, is meant to be ephemeral. Given its public setting, it could also be subjected to vandalism or other visual reactions. 

As many around the country fear for their futures under a leader whose definition of an American fails to include them, we look to artists like Fazlalizadeh to depict in simple and striking terms what it has always and will always mean to be an American. 

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It seems as if Annie Leibovitz’s Pirelli revolution has stuck.

The Pirelli Calendar ― generally a model-filled item given to VIP customers of the Italian tire company along with politicians, royalty and other influential persons each year ― has made its 2017 debut, and appears to follow in the footsteps of Leibovitz’s progressive and hugely deviational 2016 edition.

Instead of models, German fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh chose actresses who he says have played an important role in his life. They are: Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, Helen Mirren, Julianne Moore, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlotte Rampling, Lea Seydoux, Uma Thurman, Alicia Vikander, Kate Winslet, Robin Wright, Zhang Ziyi and one non-actress, Anastasia Ignatova, the professor of political theory at the Moscow State University of International Relations. 

Although the calendar is manufactured as a splashy advertisement for Pirelli, photographers have recently started using it to comment on women in media. Like Leibovitz’s subjects, Lindbergh’s are captured in black and white, simply clothed. 

“In a time when women are represented in the media and everywhere else as ambassadors of perfection and youth, I thought it was important to remind everyone that there is a different beauty, more real and truthful and not manipulated by commercial or any other interests, a beauty which speaks about individuality, courage to be yourself and your own private sensibility,” the photographer said in a statement.

For many years, the tire company stuck to featuring nude or nearly nude women (think Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen and Naomi Campbell) posed as if in homage to ‘50s pinups in the calendar it’s produced on and off since 1964.

Last year’s edition sparked discussion for its radical tonal shift. Instead of choosing women for their beauty, Leibovitz selected her female subjects based on their achievements, such as the New York Museum of Modern Art’s 77-year-old President Emerita Agnes Gund and 65-year-old author Fran Lebowitz. With a few exceptions ― including Amy Schumer, who was jokingly positioned as if she didn’t get the memo ― last year’s subjects stayed clothed, channeling a sense of optimism reflected in “the first credible woman presidential candidate” and increasing numbers of leading female characters in entertainment, an advertising executive told The New York Times.

At the time, it wasn’t clear whether Leibovitz’s message would continue in subsequent years.

But Lindbergh has made for a good follow-up. In his career as a fashion photographer, he is known for capturing his (mainly female) subjects naturally and with cinematic flair. 

“I must say, there is only one way for the future, and this is to define women as strong and independent,” he told Interview magazine in 2014.

The 40 images in the Pirelli calendar were taken in Berlin, Los Angeles, New York, London and a beach in France ― but to see them in their entirety, it appears you’ll still have to befriend some royalty.

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Of Monsters and Men are out with a new video for “We Sink,” premiering exclusively on The Huffington Post. The music video is dedicated to the current refugee crisis, as millions of people are fleeing their homes in search of a safe place to live. 

The Icelandic folk band reached out to members of the Red Cross in Iceland, who connected them with refugees in their home country to be featured in the video.

“They, like most of us, have stories of love, pain, family, loss and happiness. But unlike many of us, they also have a stories of needing to leave their home countries in search of a safe place to live,” the band said in a statement to HuffPost, in conjunction with the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “Something that should be a given for all of us and sadly isn’t.”

The song features the lyrics:

“It’s warm, the skin I’m living in
It creates and shapes what is within
So please look away, don’t look at me
As we sink into the open sea”

Of Monsters and Men says they want the video to remind everyone that “although we may not choose the situations we are born into, we can choose how we help and treat those in need. And that no matter our differences, we all deserve to live in a world without violence and hatred and in one with more peace and kindness.”

“We Sink” appears on the group’s 2015 sophomore album, “Beneath the Skin.”

Of Monsters and Men set up a donation page through the ICRC where fans can help raise funds for the refugee crisis. Go here to find out more.

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Art Basel Miami Beach festivities kick off this week, bringing plenty of art fairs, champagne toasts, socialites, B-list celebs and free caviar to the city’s glitzed-out, sandy shores. And also, more unconventionally, the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot. 

Kathy Grayson of New York gallery The Hole confirmed the Page Six rumor to artnet News, affirming that the group will participate in a rare “political happening” at some point during Art Basel that will consist of a performance and a talk. Like most of the week’s most sought-after events, it’s an exclusive one ― invitation-only, to be exact ― and capped at 500 people. 

For those who may feel a bit uncomfortable about participating in a week-long bacchanal of art world decadence so shortly after a devastating presidential election, Pussy Riot offers an opportunity for liberal political activism in a most unusual venue.

The band, most well-known for spending nearly two years in a Russian prison after criticizing President Vladimir Putin in 2012, recently released three songs criticizing Donald Trump before the election, including the incredibly catchy girl-power anthem “Straight Outta Vagina.” Following Trump’s election, Pussy Riot encouraged fans not to lose hope on Twitter.

Of course, there is something strikingly un-punk about performing at a wildly exorbitant art fair known for star-studded stunts ― for example, that time Usher charged his cell phone in a naked woman’s vagina. But we hope that, despite the exclusive nature of the happening, Pussy Riot can radically shake up the art world elite.

For the rest of us normies who will not be in attendance, we can always pray for an Inauguration Day surprise. 

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If crowd reactions at the Gotham Awards are any barometer, “Moonlight” has cast a bright shadow over the entirety of Oscar season.

The annual gala sends the derby into high gear, marking the first major gathering of the year’s contenders. Fêted with dinner and wine during a nearly three-hour ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in downtown Manhattan, Hollywood leaves the hills and descends upon New York for a night. On Monday, everything came up “Moonlight.” 

The movie netted the wildest applause during nomination clip reels. No other winners saw more fervent or sustained cheers. And it won everything it was up for: “Moonlight” writer and director Barry Jenkins nabbed Best Screenplay, while his film earned the Audience Award, the Ensemble Cast Award and ousted “Certain Women,” “Everybody Wants Some!!,” “Manchester by the Sea” and “Paterson” for the top prize, Best Feature. The crowd went gaga each time. The only other whose kudos came close was Isabelle Huppert, scoring Best Actress over favored Natalie Portman.

Even Cate Blanchett noticed the enthusiasm. “Speaking of extraordinary, that ‘Moonlight’ film is extraordinary,” she said while presenting a tribute to Amy Adams.

Now, it must be said that the Gotham Awards have no direct influence on the Oscars. Juries of critics and entertainment journalists select nominees for the Gothams, and industry veterans choose the winners (a committee of five actors per acting category, for example). Those industry juries do comprise a smattering of Academy members, but the Gothams lack the massive membership overlap between the Oscars and the guilds prizes. In short, they’re not a proper bellwether for what’s to come.

And yet! Much of the multimillion-dollar Oscar campaign fodder boils down to optics. Which candidates have the best narratives? Think Leonardo DiCaprio’s arctic misery while shooting “The Revenant,” or the long-overdue Best Director statuette that Martin Scorsese finally earned with “The Departed,” or Nicole Kidman’s deglamorization in “The Hours.” Or, more simply, who puts in the most time? Who gets the most magazine spreads? Who kisses the most babies? Who emerges victorious during the season’s early prizes? (We are two weeks away from the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, after all.) 

Using that metric, the Gothams’ “Moonlight” ardor lent the film a mild boost on Monday. For added prestige, the triptych about a black Miami boy grappling with his sexuality has performed well at the box office, at least for a project of its size and theme. Many critics hail it as the year’s best film. But the Academy, whose membership skews white and old, has a spotty record when it comes to stories about minorities. Pundits cried homophobia when “Crash” won over “Brokeback Mountain” for Best Picture in 2006 and again this year when “Carol” was snubbed in the category altogether. “Moonlight” is both gay and black. Let’s hope the times are a-changing: This is the new woke America ― Donald Trump presidency or not ― and the freshly diversified Academy might opt to throw its weight behind something with social resonance. “Moonlight” could be just the thing it needs, especially after two consecutive years of #OscarsSoWhite. 

Of course, this all assumes “La La Land” and “Fences” underperform. Both are studio releases, rendering them ineligible for the Gotham Awards, which are affiliated with the Independent Film Project. “La La Land” is classic Oscar fare, a throwback musical with a joyful spirit that could double as an antidote to the atrocity that has been 2016. “Fences,” based on the celebrated August Wilson play, also tackles race, even if the results aren’t as cinematic. Pre-release buzz seems a bit muted, but “Fences” has the benefit of A-list stars (Denzel Washington and Viola Davis) and Paramount cash to fund its campaign. And we still have to see what role the next Scorsese outing, “Silence,” plays as it screens for press in the coming weeks.

Whatever happens, the race is on. Any added visibility for “Moonlight” is a win in my book. I’d love to wax thoughtful about the impact its triumph would have on young queer kids, but this is Hollywood, where everything is a high-stakes poker game. It’s every movie for itself. For now, the finish line has moved up an inch or two for “Moonlight.”

The 2017 Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 24. The full list of Gotham winners is below. In competitive categories, winners are marked in bold.

Best Feature 

“Certain Women”
“Everybody Wants Some!!”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“Moonlight” 
“Paterson”

Best Documentary

“Cameraperson”
“I Am Not Your Negro”
“O.J.: Made in America” 
“Tower”
“Weiner”

Audience Award 

“Moonlight” 

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award

Robert Eggers, “The Witch”
Anna Rose Holmer, “The Fits”
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, “Swiss Army Man”
Trey Edward Shults, “Krisha” 
Richard Tanne, “Southside with You”

Best Screenplay

“Hell or High Water,” Taylor Sheridan
“Love & Friendship,” Whit Stillman
“Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan
“Moonlight,” Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney; Screenplay by Barry Jenkins 
“Paterson,” Jim Jarmusch

Best Actor

Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea” 
Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
Adam Driver, “Paterson”
Joel Edgerton, “Loving”
Craig Robinson, “Morris from America”

Best Actress

Kate Beckinsale, “Love & Friendship”
Annette Bening, “20th Century Women”
Isabelle Huppert in “Elle” 
Ruth Negga in “Loving”
Natalie Portman in “Jackie”

Breakthrough Actor

Lily Gladstone, “Certain Women”
Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”
Royalty Hightower, “The Fits”
Sasha Lane, “American Honey”
Anya Taylor-Joy, “The Witch” 

Ensemble Cast Award

“Moonlight” 

Breakthrough Series – Long Form

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” 
“The Girlfriend Experience”
“Horace and Pete”
“Marvel’s Jessica Jones”
“Master of None”

Breakthrough Series – Short Form

“The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo”
“Her Story” 
“The Movement”
“Sitting in Bathrooms with Trans People”
“Surviving”

Tribute Awards

Amy Adams, Ethan Hawke, Arnon Milchan and Oliver Stone

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Felicity Jones is all about getting paid what she’s worth. 

The 33-year-old actress recently sat down with Glamour for the magazine’s January cover story to talk about equal pay, her feminist upbringing and her upcoming (and badass) role in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” 

Jones ― who is reportedly getting paid twice as much as her male co-stars in “Rogue One” ― doesn’t think think being paid fairly should be anything but routine for women.  

“I want to be paid fairly for the work that I’m doing. That’s what every single woman around the world wants,” Jones said. “We want to be paid on parity with a man in a similar position. And I think it’s important to talk about it.” 

She specifically pointed to the importance of high-profile actresses like Jennifer Lawrence and Patricia Arquette publicly calling out the gender wage gap.

“It’s brave of [Lawrence and Arquette] to come forward and make a point about it,” Jones said. “Now younger actresses will have a confidence in those discussions with their agents and be able to say, ‘Can we make sure that I’m being paid the right amount for the work that I’m doing?’”

Jones said she was excited to play the lead character, Jyn, in “Rogue One” because Jyn is a three-dimensional character who isn’t there to simply be eye candy. 

“The opportunity to play someone determined, who’s trying to find her skills as a leader; to be in a fantasy movie; to be able to do a leading female role in a film of that scale ― that’s very, very rare,” Jones told Glamour.

Jones said that from the beginning director Gareth Edwards told her, “I want guys to watch it and be like, ‘I want to be Jyn!’” She added that throughout the film, viewers won’t even see Jyn’s arms because Edwards didn’t want to sexualize the character. 

“A female friend of mine said, ‘I love that Jyn looks how we look, with trousers and a long-sleeved top,’” Jones said. “We aren’t in hot pants. When do women walk around wearing hot pants?”

When Glamour’s Karen Valby asked if Jones’ “feminist needs” were met by “Rogue One” Jones replied:

I’ve always been a feminist, and what I love in my work is being able to explore a full-sided woman and not patronize her. Particularly with Jyn, it’s such a rare opportunity to be able to play a female who’s not just thinking about [romantic] relationships.

Jyn sounds like a excellent character to play ― and watch ― to us.

Head over to Glamour to read Jones’ full interview. 

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Just weeks after the theatrical release of “The Girl on the Train,” the author of the book it’s based on has announced that she’ll release a new suspense novel in May 2017.

Paula Hawkins broke all kinds of sales records with the story of Rachel, a woman struggling with heartbreak, alcoholism, and a distrust of her own observations.

Her upcoming book, Into the Water, promises a similar conceit. The story will center on the murder of a teenage girl and a single mother, found at the bottom of a river near a small town, according to a statement by Riverhead, the Penguin Random House imprint that published “Girl on the Train.”

The novel will “interrogate the deceitfulness of memory and all the dangerous ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present and future,” the book’s editor, Sarah McGrath, said in the statement.

Hawkins echoed the moody intent of her sophomore thriller.

“For me there is something irresistible about the stories we tell ourselves, the way voices and truths can be hidden consciously or unconsciously,” she told the Associated Press. 

Into the Water, which at last veers away from the trend of including the word “girl” in the title of popular thrillers, is slated for release on May 2.

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“I like good strong words that mean something,” Louisa May Alcott writes as Jo March in Little Women.

With our current political climate, this quote from Alcott’s iconic novel ― which is loosely based on her own childhood ― holds even more weight.

The novelist was born on Nov. 29, 1832, and this Tuesday is her 184th birthday. As such, Google is celebrating the life and wise words of the author who brought us the March family and so much more ... with a Doodle!

The Doodle, by Sophie Diao, shows sisters Beth, Jo, Amy, and Meg, and Jo’s best friend Laurie (played by the delicious Christian Bale in the film).

Outside of her writing, Alcott was a suffragist, abolitionist, and feminist. She was a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War and her family’s home was a station on the Underground Railroad. An active member of the women’s suffrage movement, Alcott was the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Massachusetts. 

“I want to do something splendid before I go into my castle, something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead,” Jo March says in Little Women. “I don’t know what, but I’m on the watch for it, and mean to astonish you all some day.”

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Sarah Ortega, a 20-year-old student at Winona State University (WSU) in Minnesota, is a survivor of sexual assault. And in the wake of a triggering presidential campaign, the healing process has become more difficult. 

“The hardest part of the election for many of us is the outright acceptance of sexual assault,” Ortega recently wrote in a powerful Facebook post. “This election was eerily similar to the rhetoric that was spewed at me when I reported my assault to police and campus authority. I don’t go a day without thinking how normalized rape has become in our culture and I can’t help but fear for the future.”

Now that Donald Trump, a man who’s been publicly accused of sexually assaulting over a dozen women, will be the next president of the United States, Ortega is ready to take action. 

For Ortega, that personal call to action meant creating a photo campaign featuring seven WSU students, including herself, who are all survivors of sexual assault. In the coming weeks, the images (shot by local photographer Cynthya Porter) will be turned into posters that will be hung around WSU’s campus. Each poster will feature a photo of a survivor and information about online resources for victims.

Ortega hopes that the campaign, which she created for her Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies minor, will foster conversations surrounding sexual assault on WSU’s campus. 

“According to a recent campus survey, 1 in 5 Winona State students are victims of gender-based violence,” Ortega told The Huffington Post. “The campaign is meant to showcase this statistic, to show people that these numbers are real.”

This election was eerily similar to the rhetoric that was spewed at me when I reported my assault to police and campus authority.
Sarah Ortega

Ortega said she had always been an advocate for survivors, but she didn’t realize how insidious rape culture really is until she became a survivor herself.  

“In January I was raped. Despite reporting it to law enforcement immediately after, it took me months to accept what had happened to me,” she said. “I didn’t realize how internalized the stigma of being assaulted was until I was raped... I faced extreme retaliation after Title IX made the decision to expel my rapist from campus. Colleagues told me that I ruined my rapist’s life and that I would do anything for attention, negative or positive.” 

Now, Ortega hopes to use her voice to heal and help other survivors do the same. “The most frustrating thing I have faced through my healing process is the silence of people close to me,” she said. “Silence NEVER favors the victim... The first step in changing rape culture on Winona State’s campus is to simply talk about it. The conversation will be uncomfortable, but it must happen.” 

Scroll below to see the seven women featured in Ortega’s project. The Huffington Post reached out to each of the women and asked them what it means to have an accused sexual predator heading to the White House.

Need help? Visit RAINN's National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center's website.

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Our unique features make us beautiful, but it can be hard to see them that way.

As a kid growing up in Virginia, Natalia Castellar was bullied “terribly” for her long, thick eyebrows. The Puerto Rican-born 17-year-old says things got so bad, she almost shaved them down.

“I had a lot of self-esteem issues,” Castellar told HuffPost. “It was very difficult for me to embrace myself.”

Thanks to a supportive family, Castellar gradually learned to love her brows. Then her sister posted shots of her on a photography blog, W reports, and a fan base grew. Castellar recently signed a modeling contract with the influential agency Next Models.

The eyebrows she once saw as a blemish are now her defining feature. 

“My eyebrows are a total advantage,” Castellar said. “They aren’t the only thing that make me a great model, but they play a huge role in attracting attention from both fans and potential clients.”

So far, Castellar has modeled for Nars and Mansur Gavriel, with more projects on the way. She says fans are often surprised to learn that her signature brows require so little maintenance. 

“Many people assume that I have an eyebrow routine that I follow, but I really don’t do anything besides brush them,” she told W Magazine.

Castellar also makes it a point to tell her followers that insecurities are normal; it’s how you think about them that counts.

“We need to realize that just because someone’s beauty is different than our own doesn’t mean we’re not beautiful,” she told HuffPost. “We need to embrace our diversity and celebrate what makes us, us!”

Well said. 

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Two anti-immigrant messages were found written on exhibition signs on Saturday at the New Americans Museum in San Diego. 

“Too much immigration! Go back to your country. This one is ours!” is just one of the egregious sentiments found written on a sign at the museum, which highlights and celebrates the contributions of immigrants in the United States. 

Linda Caballero-Sotello, the museum’s executive director, posted a response on her personal Facebook on Saturday to denounce the vandalism. 

In the video post, Caballero-Sotello described “the unfortunate incident,” saying that exhibition signs had been “defaced” with anti-immigrant messages. She also posted a photo of one of the messages. 

“We will not be discouraged, we’re certainly better than that as a nation,” Caballero-Sotello said in the video. “But at the same time it’s disheartening to see that a cultural space that talks about the contributions of immigrants can be so threatening to those that now feel empowered and emboldened to speak very negative and very divisive messages.”

The New Americans Museum Facebook page also posted photos of the vandalism on Saturday. 

The museum is treating the incident as a hate crime, according to a second video Caballero-Sotello posted on Monday. She reported the vandalism to local police, who are investigating, and the FBI. 

There’s been a spike in hate crimes across the United States in recent weeks, with marginalized communities a target of slander, hate speech and physical violence. A survey by the Southern Poverty Law Center found there had been more than 200 acts of election-related harassment in thee three days after Election Day alone.

Despite taking the incident “very seriously,” Caballero-Sotello said the museum’s core mission would not be undermined by hateful messages. 

“We feel that they feel emboldened to make those comments, especially in public spaces,” she told Univision. “[This] won’t stop us, in fact it will motivate us even more.”  

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Pope Francis has often talked about his admiration for the film “Babette’s Feast.”

In 2010, when the pope was still Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, he told journalists that the Oscar-winning 1987 Danish film was his favorite movie. He’s talked about it in biographies and even used it as a teaching illustration in his apostolic exhortation on the family, “Amoris Laetitia,” or “The Joy of Love.”

Most recently, he brought it up in an interview with the Italian newspaper Avvenire published on November 17.

The Oscar-winning 1987 Danish film tells the story of two sisters who belong to a strict Protestant sect that is so concerned with piety and following the rules that it loses its connection to joy. A woman named Babette, a political refugee from Paris, shows up at the sisters’ door, seeking work as a housekeeper. After winning the lottery, Babette throws a lavish feast for the townspeople. Her neighbors are determined not to relish in the earthly pleasures she’s offering, but as they taste and drink from her table, they can’t help enjoy themselves. In the end, Babette’s efforts brings color and joy to the drab, austere town.

Dr Mary Reichardt, professor of Catholic Studies and English at the University of St. Thomas, isn’t surprised that Pope Francis, who has spent much of his papacy talking about mercy, loves the film. 

“It is a tale of the superabundance mercy of God, born in sacrifice and poured out on the humble in a manner that reveals to them both their dignity and the joy of fellowship,” she told The Huffington Post.

 Watch the trailer for Babette’s Feast below.

During the conversation published in Avvenire, journalist Stefania Falasca points out that some critics have accused the pope of “selling out” on Catholic doctrine by trying to build bridges with other Christian denominations ― such as when he met with Lutheran leaders in Sweden to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

In response, Francis said that he’s “not losing sleep” over those critics. Then, he went one step further, suggesting that at times, people who bring up these sorts of criticisms are driven by rigid set of beliefs and behaviors ― just like the townspeople in “Babette’s Feast.” 

These rigid behaviors “are born from something missing, from trying to hide one’s own sad dissatisfaction behind a kind of armor,” Francis said, according to a translation by Crux. 

Francis has often spoken out against faith that is too rigid and inflexible, saying instead that God prefers “mercy, tenderness, goodness, meekness and humility.” Early in his papacy, he stated that the church has grown “obsessed” with the culture war issues of abortion, gay marriage and contraception. Last year, at the end of a global bishops’ meeting on family issues, the pope admonished church leaders whose “closed hearts” he said frequently hide behind the church’s teachings in order to judge wounded families.

Currently, Pope Francis is under fire from conservatives in the church for appearing in “Amoris Laetitia” to open the door for divorced, remarried Catholics to receive communion. In response to that controversy, he accused his critics of “a certain legalism, which can be ideological.”

So when the pope points to joyous meal at the end of “Babette’s Feast,” he may be telling his followers about the kind of church he dreams of ― a community that is focused on bringing joy into the world.

In a 2014 biography, the pope speaks about how the townspeople in “Babette’s Feast” lived their lives “crushed by pain” and fearing love ― until they were exposed to the generosity of the cook.

“When the novelty of freedom arrives in the form of an abundant meal, they all become transformed,” he said.

Philip Kosloski, a staff writer at the Catholic website Aleteia, believes “Babette’s Feast” echoes Pope Francis’ focus on mercy. 

“’Babette’s Feast’ is Pope Francis’ favorite film because it challenges us to look outside of ourselves and to see the beauty of God’s joy and mercy,” Kosloski writes in a post. “It is a movie about selfless service to others that may not always be in accord with our man-made ‘rules’ and may upend our view of God’s mercy.”

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Tuesday’s Design/Miami fair, held during the Art Basel Miami Beach week, ended in tragedy today, when one of Jeff Koons’ iconic balloon dogs inexplicably fell from the silver plate on which he sat, his compact glass physique shattering when it hit the floor. He was magenta. 

“It just fell out of the display,” Ally Shapiro, an art collector witness to the grisly scene told The Observer. “The girl standing next to it had it cleaned up in five seconds.” 

While Koons’ larger balloon dogs have sold for up to $58 million in the past, this particular breed was less valuable, priced around $8,000. Nonetheless, the loss is too real.

So long little friend. May you meet up with Koons’ cracked egg in the artsy afterlife. 

h/t The Observer

Correction: The headline of this piece has been updated to reflect the Koons dog fell during Art Basel Miami Beach week, not at the fair itself. 

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If you didn’t catch the latest “Drunk History” ― Episode 10, Season 4 ― please correct your mistake. Stream the blessed television experience on Comedy Central’s website or app so that you, like we did, can witness the magic that is Lin-Manuel Miranda, drunk, reciting history like it’s his job.

(Note: It was his job. See: “Hamilton: An American Musical,” which he created. And that’s why he’s do goddamn good at it, even when plied with copious amounts of booze.)

If you’ve already watched the episode several times today... great. Let’s talk. There are a few moments we’d like to underscore. Because the biography of Alexander Hamilton is made infinitely more interesting when acted out by the likes of Alia Shawkat, Aubrey Plaza, Tony Hale, David Wain, Bokeem Woodbine and a little known actor named David Grohl. (Yes, Dave Grohl.)

Those moments are:

• This introductory quote from Miranda on Alexander Hamilton: “History spoiler: He’s gonna invent our economy.”


• That time a “sick-ass Hamilton” arrived on a flaming ship to America. Note to audience: “Your ass will never be the same.”

• The first time Miranda acknowledged his drunkenness: “OK, I’m gonna lean forward ... Oh shit, I’m drunk ... Pretty drunk.”


• The second time he acknowledged his drunkenness: “I’m giggly and there’s gaps in my memory already.”

• That time Miranda compared the Reynolds Pamphlet to a Penthouse Letter using the phrases “ripped-bodice woman” and “Dick 101.” (Bonus, you can read the real Reynolds Pamphlet here and compare them to Penthouse Letters for yourself!)


• That time Questlove FaceTimed with Miranda during the “Drunk History” taping. Also, that time Christopher Jackson FaceTimed with him during the same taping. “You’re my best friend,” Miranda told Jackson. “As long as I have a job, you have a job.” #SquadGoals.


• When Miranda and “Drunk History” host/co-creator Derek Waters discussed ordering a Domino’s pizza. (We’ve all been there.)


• When Miranda said “bro” at least nine times in a row.


• When Miranda sang ― and played on the piano ― a rendition of Semisonic’s “Closing Time.” Wow.


• That time Miranda introduced us to the phrase “fuck you-it-iveness.”


• Those closing words: “It’s fucked up. It’s really fucked up.”


• Finally, everything Tony Hale did. Just gaze upon the clip above and the screenshots below.

There are few things in this world as beautiful as a “Drunk History” episode. And to modify that statement, there are few things in this world as beautiful as the original “Drunk History” episode about the American statesman and Founding Father Hamilton.

Somehow, Miranda is able to charmingly swear his way through a rival performance, proving that he and his pony tail can do anything. Anything.

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Mix the beats you usually associate with dancehall or dubstep with a pulsing combination of spoken word and traditional tribal sounds and you have the essential formula for what could be considered a subgenre of EDM ― now being referred to as “powwow step.”

The primary purveyors of powwow step are the members of an indigenous DJ trio called A Tribe Called Red. Formed in 2008 in Ottawa, Canada, the group consists of Bear Witness, 2oolman and DJ NDN. Together, their complex musical identity rests on positivity ― “A Tribe Called Red promotes inclusivity, empathy and acceptance amongst all races and genders in the name of social justice,” the group writes online.

Speaking directly to indigenous communities “living in a country that was forcefully colonized,” ATCR believes that indigenous people must define their identity on their own terms. Their third album, “We Are the Halluci Nation,” echoes the sentiment in a time when protests in North Dakota are bringing the concerns of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation to the forefront of national news. “This album is critical listening for everyone,” Pitchfork declared earlier this year, praising the trio’s “iconoclastic” politics.

This week, ATCR is premiering the video for a single off the record, titled “The Virus.” Described as “a defiant celebration of indigenous and oppressed cultures,” the song features activist/poet/rapper Saul Williams and the First Nations drum group Chippewa Travellers. 

“We are the Halluci Nation,” a disembodied voice bellows over a rumbling drum swarm in the video above, reciting the words of Santee Dakota poet John Trudell. “We are the evolution. A continuation. We are the Halluci Nation. Our DNA is of earth and sky. Our DNA is of past and future.”

To accompany the premiere of “The Virus,” poet Williams sent The Huffington Post the following statement:

When the first question arose it took the form of a virus. The virus was a hallucinogen. Walking on water wasn’t built in a day. If plagiarism is a thing what do you call it on land? What does it mean to be true to your word? What does it mean to stand your ground? What does it mean to protect and serve? What does it mean when corporate interests encroach upon communal resources? What does it mean when we let the oligarchs of industry dig up the graves of First Nations to suck the blood beneath the bones and boil the profits in contaminated water?

We are the seventh generation. We are the protectors of this land, the protectors of water. We are not a conquered people. We will issue no warning. It will come thinly veiled or not veiled at all. The drum will beat. And you will hear it. There is no question.

Read about ATCR collaborator Tanya Tagaq on HuffPost Arts & Culture. Check out ATCR’s upcoming tour dates on their website. “The Virus” video was produced for the Halluci Nation by DAIS & Mad Ruk and directed by Tunkasila.

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Dutch photographer and digital artist Adrian Sommeling finds inspiration in a very special source: his 10-year-old son Nic. 

“By seeing him growing up, I remember my own childhood dreams and things that I liked,” Sommeling told The Huffington Post.

Inspired by Nic’s imagination, the artist created a series of whimsical photos starring his son. 

Since 2011, Sommeling has photographed his son and used Photoshop and other visual effects techniques to create surreal images. Through the magical photos, Nic gets to enter his favorite storybooks or transform into a giant creature. 

“He could be somewhere he’s never been before, or do things he’s never done,” Sommeling said. 

The photographer said his son enjoys seeing the images come to life. “In the beginning, when he was 5 years old, he didn’t understood a thing about it,” Sommeling said. “Now of course he knows how it works. And what’s funny is that he sometimes walks by when I am working on a new composite, and he gives me some criticism, like ‘Nooo, that doesn’t look real yet!’”

Sommeling plans to continue adding to the series as Nic grows up. He said the photos are inspired by his own childhood memories, as well as Nic’s interests, like “Pokemon Go.”

The photographer told HuffPost he hopes his photos make people smile. “You know, the world gets already so much bad news and so many sad pictures,” he said. “It’s great to sometimes see images that can make you smile again, or remind you of your own childhood. And I also hope my photos inspire people, to create their own images. It’s so fun to do.”

H/T BoredPanda

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Charles Busch put a heartfelt spin on “The Rainbow Connection” as part of his new live album, and The Huffington Post has an exclusive first listen.

The award-winning drag icon, actor and playwright tackled the song, which was introduced in 1979’s “The Muppet Movie,” as part of his June cabaret engagement at New York’s Feinstein’s/54 Below. That evening was captured for posterity on Busch’s album, “Live at Feinstein’s/54 Below,” which hits retailers Dec. 2.

Despite the 62-year-old’s extensive résumé comprising stage, screen and cabaret credits, this is his first album — and he couldn’t be more thrilled with the results.

“I can’t believe that I actually have a record out that I’m very, very proud of,” Busch told The Huffington Post. “I think it’s a very good representation of who I am, and where I am right now.”

Just weeks after the album’s release, Busch will return to the Feinstein’s/54 stage Below for a special New Year’s Eve performance. That show will feature much of the same material as the album, he said, along with a few additional surprises.

Busch told HuffPost that he’s aware that his show will cap off what’s been an incredibly difficult year for many, including those in the LGBTQ community, and as a result, he is planning to conclude the show on an optimistic, forward-thinking note.

“I would suspect that my audience tends to be on my political wavelength, but… you never know,” he said. “It’s not really a place for me to be pontificating. But, at the same time, New Year’s Eve is a very profound moment every year.”

Although Busch is tight-lipped on the specifics, he’d be remiss if he didn’t wear something fabulous in honor of the occasion, too. “Floating chiffon is good if you’re over 40,” he quipped.

Charles Busch’s “Live at Feinstein’s/54 Below” will be released Dec. 2. He returns to Feinstein’s/54 Below on New Year’s Eve. For more information, head here.  

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Artist and writer Douglas Coupland set out to find the single man who most resembles beloved painter Vincent van Gogh. And boy, did he find him in pensive redhead Daniel Baker.

The winner of the officially titled “I am Vincent” competition shares striking similarities to the iconic Dutch post-impressionist, from his sharp cheekbones to his strawberry blonde beard. The only difference, of course, is Baker’s extra ear. 

Vancouver-based Coupland sifted through the photos of 1,250 entrants from 37 countries to find his perfect van Gogh doppelgänger. Baker, hailing from Christchurch, England, was the ultimate victor. Er, Vincent. 

“As soon as I saw Daniel, I knew he was the one,” Coupland explained on the project website. The likeness was confirmed by a popular vote, which gained traction on social media, and eventually garnered over 500,000 opinions from people around the world.

“The popular vote helped, and consulting with doctors confirmed my choice,” Coupland continued. “There is a science behind why people ‘look like themselves,’ and the final Vincent had to have the proper biometric data to match the artist. Daniel did.”

Baker’s prize is quite unusual. His likeness will be used as source material for a large sculpture of van Gogh, commissioned by Anthony von Mandl. His head will be 3D-scanned with hundreds of cameras and the resulting facial data will be the basis for a bronze bust, to be installed at Mandl’s British Columbian winery. 

The final sculpture will be revealed on April 22, 2017, but in the meantime, look at this punam:

And compare:

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Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina. Over the past year, Patrick Haggerty ― frontman of Lavender Country, the first band to perform openly gay country music ― has been gallivanting across Trump country.

The band’s most popular song, “Cryin’ These Cocksucking Tears,” might make those who voted for the new president-elect uncomfortable. It’s a bluntly sung story about the pain of living as a gay man in America in the early 1970s. The song was first written and recorded in Seattle, Washington, where Haggerty lived at the time.

This doesn’t dissuade Haggerty from spreading his message across America’s landlocked states. In an interview with The Huffington Post, he said, “The progressive communities in the heartland are so welcoming, so loving, so tightly knit, so committed, so inspiring. It’s really a delight to see that aspect of what’s happening.” He’s alluding to the results of 2016’s election, which blindsided many progressives, himself included.

Haggerty’s happy to hear his music resonate with far-flung communities. In fact, he’s thankful that people are listening to his decades-old album at all; he never expected his addition to the country canon to catch fire in his lifetime. Lavender Country’s self-titled debut was the band’s only release, garnering a following of mostly LGBTQ fans before fading into obscurity. Until, in 2014, a small record studio re-released it, and listeners were roiled by its clear, powerful message.

We made it by ourselves, for ourselves, to ourselves. And it was a real community effort, but we weren’t stupid. We knew that we had no chance
Patrick Haggerty

Shortly after, filmmaker Dan Taberski sought out Haggerty as the subject of his short documentary, “These C*cksucking Tears,” which received HuffPost’s Social Impact Award at the Nitehawk Shorts Festival earlier this month. The film was also a Jury Award winner at SXSW and the Seattle International Film Festival.

“Of course, we knew what ‘Lavender Country’ was when we made it. How could we not know?” Haggerty explained to HuffPost. “We knew that gay country music had no chance of going anywhere, except in our small circle of gay liberationists. That’s why we made the album. We made it by ourselves, for ourselves, to ourselves. And it was a real community effort, but we weren’t stupid. We knew that we had no chance. For 40 years, my take on ‘Lavender Country’ was, ‘Too bad. A lot of people die unsung. A lot of people do significant things and never get recognized. You’re gonna be one of them. So what? Shed a tear and get moving.’”

Haggerty got married, had a family, and continued to engage with LGBTQ and anti-racism activism. In 2000, his musical project resurfaced for a moment when it was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, but still, listeners were sparse.

“It’s a great reminder that as you go along through life, you plant these seeds, and you don’t know when they’re gonna come back,” Taberski told HuffPost. He chalks Lavender Country’s dormancy up to the specificity of the gay country genre. “I don’t think, on the whole, country music is very appealing to the gay community. I think it’s easier for the gay community to congeal around music you can dance to, music that’s funny, that’s ironic, and this isn’t really.”

Emphasizing the earnestness of his genre, Haggerty said, “the best country music is people singing their truths. And that’s been the basis of country from the beginning. It’s a simple, honest music structure that allows you to do that, and it’s a structure that anybody can relate to, because of its simplicity.”

And that’s precisely why listeners seem drawn to it today, Haggerty says. It’s not rock, it’s not punk, it’s not metal; it’s a subversive message coming from a genre that, in the past, has been committed to upholding strongly held values rather than questioning them.

That said, Haggerty asserts that, regardless of the genre he worked in, the music industry was not prepared for openly gay lyrics in 1973. “There wasn’t any type of music that was ready to embrace Lavender Country. Nobody wanted it, so what difference did it make? Rock ‘n’ roll, whatever else was going at the time, was not ready. It didn’t matter what musical form I chose at the time, and I chose the one that I knew,” he said.

That changed in 2014, when Haggerty was approached by independent record label Paradise of Bachelors about re-releasing his album. He marveled that the men who wanted to resurface his work were straight, white men with families ― when, decades earlier, straight, white men with families were exactly who censored his music on the radio.

“These straight white men, they don’t identify as straight white men, they identify as humanists that are down for the struggle, and they want everybody to know that,” Haggerty said. “That phenomenon is what moved Lavender Country out of the gay ghetto, into the mainstream.”

Today, Haggerty’s listenership goes beyond those who identify as LGBTQ, and those who live in rural areas, hoping to seek out information about their sexuality ― although, Taberski noted to HuffPost, those listeners still exist, too. But Haggerty is proud that his message has been extended to include the struggles of other groups.

“Immigrants and black people and trans people and people who are really struggling at the bottom can see themselves in the Lavender Country story, and they get it,” he said. “And they know how to translate the issues into their own circumstances.”

Taberski echoed, “I think people want to speak truth to power ― especially now ― and they don’t want to say it nicely. And that’s what Patrick is about. He’s fearless.”

Illustrating the joy he gleans from sharing his music with listeners from all backgrounds and sexual orientations, Haggerty cited an instance at one of his shows when a straight, white man approached him after a show, explaining, tearfully, that he was bullied as a kid, and that Lavender Country’s empowering lyrics moved him.

“He was able to translate the gay experience that I had into his own emotional well of hurt, not because he was gay but just because he was bullied,” Haggerty said. “It doesn’t matter anymore who’s gay and who’s not at my concerts. Because there’s a solidarity in the audience. The issue isn’t whether you’re gay or straight, but whether you’re down for the struggle, whether you’re ready to stand up and defend everyone’s human rights.”

The issue isn’t whether you’re gay or straight, but whether you’re down for the struggle, whether you’re ready to stand up and defend everyone’s human rights.
Patrick Haggerty

Haggerty attributes his own openness ― and his unabashed pursuit of equal rights ― to his father, a West Coast tenant farmer who allowed his son to wear dresses, a remarkable parenting choice for a man living in a small town in the 1950s.

“I had no comprehension of the powerful message that he bequeathed upon me until he was in his grave and I was a grown man, talking to other gay men about what their experiences were with their fathers. Like, oh, my God. I mean these men were saying ‘father’ and then they were telling me the rest of the sentence, and honey, I just couldn’t put the subject and the predicate together in the same sentence. Your dad did what? It was so alien from my experience,” Haggerty said.

“His influence left me so unscathed, and unscarred, and whole. It was just like a huge, huge, huge, exponentially huge advantage that I had over other gay men. Looking back on it, reflecting now about how it came to be that I wrote the world’s first gay country album, it’s like, I wrote the world’s first gay country album because my dad said I could. That’s why. My father said I could. Fundamentally, don’t you think I owed him that? Thanks, dad! Here it is. Right? I was morally obligated to give him that gift.

And now, Haggerty hopes to share the same gift that was given to him ― the power of personal expression, sexual and otherwise ― with his listeners.

The Nitehawk Shorts Festival took place Nov. 9-13, 2016, at the cinema’s location in Brooklyn, New York. Huffington Post Arts & Culture was the Media Sponsor for the festival and provided the inaugural Huffington Post Impact Award. The winner of that award is Dan Taberski’s “These C*cksucking Tears,” which you can watch above. To see more of our coverage of the Shorts Festival head here, here and here.

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For the many who idolize Hunter S. Thompson, pioneering creator of Gonzo journalism and author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, following in his footsteps looks pretty daunting ― until now.

Thompson’s drug-fueled, immersive approach to his art sets a high barrier to entry, but to spend a day in this New Journalist’s shoes, acolytes will soon be able to skip recreating experiences like embedding with a violent biker gang. That’s because his widow, Anita Thompson, recently announced that she’ll be marketing “authentic Gonzo strains” from Hunter’s “personal” marijuana stash.

Yep, one day we may all be able to get exactly as high as Thompson did. 

In a Facebook post, Thompson revealed that she has preserved several kinds of her late husband’s pot, and that she’ll be using DNA extracted from the leaves to reanimate the exact strains he smoked.

The pot project comes as an offshoot of a recent business deal struck between Anita Thompson and the Gonzo Trust, a corporation set up by the writer prior to his death. According to the Aspen Times, the agreement granted her ownership rights to Hunter S. Thompson’s likeness, while she gave up the right to his book proceeds. As a part of the deal, she also purchased back Owl Farm, the Woody Creek, Colorado, compound where her late spouse resided prior to his death in 2005. Although she had full occupancy rights and continued to live there, the property itself had been owned and operated by the Gonzo Trust since his death.

“Since it became legal I get approached probably once a month by cannabis growers, dispensaries,” Thompson told the Aspen Times. In Colorado, recreational marijuana was legalized in 2012. She explained that she’d never wanted to to make a deal before.

“It’s the same story every time: Somebody wants to slap Hunter’s name on their strain,” she said.

In a Facebook post, Thompson explained that her planned Gonzo varietal will be legit, stating, “I have found a legal method to extract the DNA from Hunter’s personal marijuana and hashish that I saved for 12-15 years.” She’s now working with a cannabis company to turn that DNA into fresh-grown weed.

“I am looking forward to making the authentic strains available in legal states to support the Farm and the scholarships,” she added. 

Or, as she more facetiously put it to the Aspen Times, “I’m looking forward to being a drug lord.”

Is it even possible to recreate a Gonzo weed from Hunter’s musty old stash? The Washington Post suggests the answer is yes, though it would be far more challenging than cloning a living plant: “In 2012, in fact, Russian biologists announced they revived an Arctic flower that had perished 32,000 years ago, brought back thanks to seed tissue preserved for millennia beneath the Siberian tundra.”

Whoa.

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