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Leah Remini Says She Found Suri Cruise Crying On The Bathroom Floor At Tom & Katie's Wedding

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Screen Shot 2015-11-02 at 1.11.25 PM.pngphoto by Mark Woodworth/BFA.com

The bombs Ms. Leah Remini dropped in her recent 20/20 interview about leaving Scientology were plentiiiiiful.

And now, snippets of her upcoming tell-all Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology paint a dark, dark recounting of the Italian wedding of the church's messiah Tom Cruise to his now ex-wife Katie Holmes in 2006.

Remini's details are cup-face-with-hands cringe-worthy, including Tom serenading his bride with the SAME exact serenade he gave Kelly McGillis in Top Gun (fuck my life), and the church intentionally seating Leah and her husband away from her best friend, Jennifer Lopez, in hopes of honing in on Jen's non-Scientologist psyche.

J-Lo's father had been a member of the religion.

The most disturbing detail, however, describes Leah discovering a then-baby Suri Cruise, crying on the floor of a bathroom during the actual wedding ceremony at the opulent Odesalchi Castle.

NY Daily News paraphrases the upsetting, alleged scene:

Remini, after five long minutes, followed the sound of the crying baby to a bathroom where three women stood staring at the infant left lying on the floor.

The enraptured trio, including Cruise's sister and his assistant, were gaping at the hungry child as if she was "L. Ron Hubbard incarnate" -- Version 2.0 of the late Scientology founder.


WHAT IN THE OMEN HELL?????

Leah also adds that in an awkward car ride to the airport with Cruise's two older children, Bella and Connor, she asked them if they'd seen their mother (Nicole Kidman) recently.

Bella reportedly replied, "Not if I have a choice. Our mom is a fucking SP."

'SP' in Scientology-ology means a 'Suppresive Person'... AKA "I DON'T FUCK WITH YOU."

Katie Holmes released an official statement to 20/20, saying, "I regret having upset Leah in the past, and wish her only the best in the future," to which a tearfully happy Leah responded, "We're back to being human."

The church is denying any and all claims the actress has made, and I'm sure Leah has fully come to terms with sleeping with one eye open for the rest of her life.

But thanks to Bella Cruise, I'm now going to call people "Fucking SPs!!!!!" forever.


The Past Is Never Dead: A Look at the Tombstones Of Tumblr

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William Faulkner once said that "the past is never dead. It's not even past." More than ever, the past is the present, as well as the future, and dead is barely dead. On the Internet, all of time exists at the exact same time. The ease with which we are able to rediscover, recontextualize and remix the past, to unmoor old loves and new obsessions from a fixed temporal point and bring them into the now, means that no artist is ever truly over, even in death. Tumblr has done more than any other website to mash together images of the past and the present until there's no need to differentiate between Drake, Prince and Biggie; they're all equally now online. That's why we asked Tumblr to provide us with images of celebrity tombstones for our Nowstalgia issue, including the final resting places of Rick James, Andy Warhol and Marilyn Monroe. On one level, these monuments are (often literally) concrete homes for dearly departed artists, but they're also just one more place for fans to direct undying love, one more moment from then to hold on to, one more way for them to always be here, one last thing they can share with us. -- Michael Tedder

tombstones1.jpgElvis Presley's grave photographed by Celine Ponce ihatemrbrody.tumblr.com



tombstones2.jpgAndy Warhol's grave photographed by Madelyn Roehrig andys-figments-book.tumblr.com



tombstones3.jpgRick James grave photographed by Katie Hill lunytreklock.tumblr.com



tombstones4.jpgBrittany Murphy's grave photographed by Lisa Voorhees aprilfool29.tumblr.com



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Marilyn Monroe's grave photographed by Alexandria Parker eclecticlifepolicy.tumblr.com



tombstones6.jpgKarl Marx grave photographed by Kaylie McKelvey kaylie.tumblr.com




tombstones7.jpgCarl Morgan Bigsby grave photographed by Mark S. Melville gravesthataregoofy.tumblr.com







Rachel Dolezal Admits She Was "Born White" While Appearing On "The Real"

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rachel-dolezal-braids.jpgThe Internet's greatest casualty of 2015, Rachel Dolezal, appeared on The Real -- a roundtable discussion featuring a panel made up of women of color, including Loni Love, Tamar Braxton-Herbet, Tamera Mowery-Housely, Jeannie Mai, and Adrienne Bailon.

Screen Shot 2015-11-02 at 3.02.11 PM.pngIn her few interviews since becoming a worldwide meme in June, Dolezal's has continuously dodged straightforward questions like this, seemingly unable to explain her rationale for living a lie

Naturally, the show's hosts had some questions for their infamous, "black-identifying" guest, specifically what box she checks off on forms asking to delineate race. 

"I didn't have to check anything," Rachel replied, after being ask how she identified her application to her alma mater, Howard University -- a traditionally all-black college.

After some other unbelievably glib proclamations, including that she has "absolutely" walked the walk in the daily struggles that come with being a woman of color, Dolezal is confronted head on by Jeannie Mai, who bluntly says, "You were not born black, so when you say you are black, it makes it hard for people to understand where you're coming from."

Screen Shot 2015-11-02 at 3.23.16 PM.pngPausing to recover from this truth-stab, Dolezal sheepishly says, "I acknowledge that I was biologically born white, to white parents," met with a roaring applause, and even a standing o from some of the audience members.

Congrats to the ladies of The Real for finally breaking the seemingly impenetrable, pathological wall of Rachel Dolezal.

Watch the triumphant clip below, courtesy of TMZ.
 



Here's The Mom-ed Up Trailer for the New Season of Girls

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The new (and possibly penultimate?) season of Girls hits HBO February 21, and the network has released its first teaser for the season. It's a quick clip emblazoned with the very Girls sentiment, "Dance like no one's watching," with Lena Dunham's Hannah trying to take that advice until she bumps into her mom. Real heads will remember that Loreen, played by Becky Ann Baker, had a bit of a rough season last year when her husband Tad came out as gay -- and they'll also recall that the coda to last season's finale (one of the best episodes the often-controversial show has ever done) found Hannah apparently happy and coupled in the midst of winter. The clip below won't answer where the show's creative team goes from there (or show any signs of cool Girls intern Malia Obama, but at least it'll whet your appetite. [via The Hollywood Reporter]

Viperblack, The Blackest Black, Is Almost Here

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Last year, Surrey Nano Systems developed Vantablack, the world's darkest (carcinogenic and therefore unwearable) material made out of carbon nanotubes -- however, a German design duo is currently crowdfunding a campaign to create Viperblack, the blackest wearable material ever, out of cotton. 

But how black is this black? Exactly 40% darker than what we currently have on the market.

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Dazed recently spoke to Phoebe Heess and Gabriel Platt, the people behind the Viperblack, about their ambitious undertaking, which they said was actually somewhat inspired by the infamous "I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color" Wednesday Addams meme. 

The other reason? "Yōhji Yamamoto - I really like him and what he's doing. He works mainly with black, just to bring the focus onto the cut. I find it so much more challenging to create something interesting in itself," Heess explained. "I think black is such a strong, elegant color."

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[h/tDazed]

Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna Apologize For The Swastika In Their Sid & Nancy Halloween Costume

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Mad Men's Harry Hamlin is screaming into a pillow tonight after photos surfaced of him wearing a T-shirt with a swastika on it, as part of his joint Sid & Nancy Halloween costume with his wife, Lisa Rinna. 

The couple attended George Clooney and Randy Gerber's Casamigo's Tequila bash in Beverly Hills as Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious and his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, and posed with the blaring symbol of humanity's downfall with great ease. 

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The idea was meant to be a recreation of one of Sid's well known looks, but the duo should have gone the route of the 1986 Sid and Nancy biopic, and opted for a far less conspicuous oppressive regime.

SidandNancy.jpgHamlin apparently wised up (that, or his publicist texted him); he veeeeeery subtly covered the swastika in this Instagram posted by Rinna's Real Housewives of Beverly Hills costar, Kyle Richards.

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At some point that night, Amal Clooney must've glanced over at Hamlin and Rinna, and slowly sipped her wine with gentle disapproval. 

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Earlier today, Rinna posted this "apology" to her Instagram; it looks like Lisa found it on Pinterest while waiting at a red light.

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But if the other swastika-wearin' Harry (Prince Harry) can bounce back, there's probably still hope for Hamlin and Rinna.

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Maybe.

Here are some other ghoulishly offensive celeb Halloween costumes.

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, 2010

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Sorry, Snickers.

Julianne Hough as "Crazy Eyes" from Orange is the New Black, 2013

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STILL CONFUSED HOW JULIANNE HOUGH HAS A SAG CARD.

Bill Maher at Steve Irwin (a month after he died), 2006

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*coughs*

Adrianne Curry as Amy Winehouse, 2009

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Girl, bye.

Octomom and her prisoners (children) as a Nun and baby demons, 2009.

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Their faces say it all.


Lil B Calls Out The Weeknd on "4 Tha Record"

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Lil B recently dropped a new video for a song titled "4 Tha Record," and it's pretty much what you'd expect from the Based God -- much better rapping than you'd expect (or a lot of detractors would care to admit), but mostly inessential except for some provocative headline material. In this case, that's a series of insults about The Weeknd, ranging from "Fuck The Weeknd I can't sing that song" to the soon to be immortal, "Fuck The Weeknd put that on a record." He's accusing the singer of not being authentic, which feels like a fine enough insult as far as it goes, but who knows if anything else will come of this other than one more person on Lil B's curse list? Will The Weeknd fire back? Probably not, because he may be a creep, but he also has one of the most successful albums of the year. [via Noisey]

Watch Ariana Grande Stand Up To Sexist Double Standards In This Interview

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Last Thursday Ariana Grande stopped by LA's Power 106 to talk about her new single, but unfortunately the only thing her bro-hosts Eric D-Lux and Justin Credible wanted to talk about was bullshit like would you rather use make up or your phone one last time? Or do only girls use the new unicorn emoji? 

Thankfully, Grande had a few choice words for their ignorance, answering the first question with a "Is this what you think girls have trouble choosing between?" and the second with a plea for emoji equality, stating "who says unicorn emoji isn't for men?"

"Boys, learn!" As Grande said at one point, continuing later with the definitive, "I changed my mind, I don't want to hang out at Power 106 anymore." 

Watch her skewer 'em a little past the 16-minute mark below.
 

[h/t Daily Dot


Model Crush Monday: Ethan Waldo

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With chic stoner vibes and sultry looks, model Ethan Waldo has perfectly embodied the spirit of the 70's. His timeless steez and modeling work for Opening Ceremony, Gypsy Sport and other fun brands has earned him our Man Crush Monday title. Check out Ethan's answers to our MCM questionnaire and his MCM shoot below.


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 Styling by Savannah White
 Hair by Janelle Chaplin

This Creepy Japanese Curry Comes With A Fake DVD Girlfriend

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Village Vanguard, a Japanese novelty book shop, is now selling an instant orange curry that comes with a DVD of a "sexy model" who will "pretend to be your girlfriend" while you eat.

Dubbed "Delusion Curry," the sexy model is one Mao Harada (aka Haradan), who plays into 3 different fantasies via super creepily-titled chapters ("The Younger Girlfriend,""The Older Girl Who Lives Next Door and is Sort of Risque," and "Haradan Made a Home-Cooked Meal") -- all for $13 USD. Talk about marketing it as multimedia experience.

[h/tFirst We Feast

Brad And Angelina Grant Us A Rare Joint Interview About Their Movie, Angelina's Medical Issues

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Screen Shot 2015-11-02 at 4.43.12 PM.pngIn a rare appearance on the Today Show, Brad and Angelina were interviewed together by Tom Brokaw about their upcoming drama By the Sea, and Angelina's multiple medical procedures to stave off the likely threat of cancer.

Looking characteristically luminous, the married demigods confirmed, once again, that the gorgeously turbulent marriage they're bringing to life in By the Sea -- which was written and directed by Jolie -- is NOT autobiographical, as many assumed.



"I'm counting on the audience to know that if [the movie] was close to us at all, we could never make this film," Angelina said, laughing.

****"FOOLS!" Angelina yells, throwing a slab of raw meat at us*****


The couple also touched on Angelina's double mastectomy in 2013 to reduce the 87% chance she had of developing breast cancer; her 50% chance of Ovarian cancer was diminished by having her fallopian tubes and ovaries removed this past March.

Screen Shot 2015-11-02 at 4.48.41 PM.pngOf his wife's ordeal, Brad gushed on her bravery, saying, "There was no vanity to her decision," and how all of her decisions were brought on by the desire to be present for their six children; "It trumps everything," he added.

Screen Shot 2015-11-02 at 4.45.51 PM.png"This wasn't going to be something that made me feel like less of a woman; my husband wouldn't let that happen," Jolie said of Pitt's dedication.

Jolie's cancer concerns stemmed from the death of her grandmother, and her own mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who tragically died from ovarian cancer in 2007 at the age of 57.

rs_560x415-130517202010-1024.jolie.cm.51713.jpgBut her mother seemed to have prescient instincts, and during her own struggle, made her doctor (who is now Angelina's doctor) promise that she would remove Angie's ovaries someday.

Feel free to upload that Zip drive of emotion, and let those tears flow.

Watch the interview below.





Australians Are Teaching Feminism To Their High Schoolers

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Fightback's Fitzroy High School Chapter / Facebook

It's no surprise that high school culture, with its body shaming and stringent whore/prude dichotomies, is rife with casual misogyny. But thankfully, one Australian territory is taking is taking institutionalized sexism to task by introducing a mandated feminist curriculum in their high schools.

Starting November 26th, the territory of Victoria will be implementing a student-designed, gender discussion-based curriculum adapted from a "resource kit" originally created by a feminist collective called Fightback. Founded in 2013 as a lunchtime gathering by Melbourne teacher Briony O'Keeffe, Fightback has (obviously) since grown into a full-fledged activist organization. However, O'Keeffe knows that there's still work to be done, as she's currently touring the country to encourage other high schools to teach the curriculum.

"We're trying to get young men and women to think a bit more critically about the sorts of sexist behaviors they might either engage in or see on a daily basis," she told Vice Australia -- an incredible initiative that's also making it look like we're moving to Australia next year. 

[h/tVice Australia

Future Imperfect: YACHT On Buzzfeed, Futurism And Loving LA

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Back to the Future Part II takes place in the year 2015, also known as right now. You'll note that we don't have any flying cars or self-lacing shoes. If this strikes you as complete bullshit, well, YACHT has your back. The Los Angeles-via-Portland pop scientists examine the frustration of living in a world that never quite lives up to its potential on their new album, I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler.  "Maybe we don't deserve those things," says band member Claire L. Evans about all the fun toys Doc Brown promised up, "because we don't even have human rights, morally accountable police or gender equality." 

While the album, the group's sixth, deals with some weighty concepts (the key song is called "War on Women"), it's their most unabashedly danceable offering yet. "We're really interested in the interplay between complex ideas and approachable music," she says. "I think we just got better at it." 

YACHT has always carried itself more like a multiplatform art project rather than a mere music-making concern. To promote the album they organized a fax machine scavenger hunt for their fans and created a GIF-heavy "tracklisticle"for Buzzfeed, but their most ambitious non-music undertaking is 5 Every Day, a website and app that Evans and bandmate Jona Bechtolt founded that lists five interesting things to do in Los Angeles. "There's so many things happening every day in Los Angeles," says Bechtolt. "So we thought about it for six months, we prototyped it and were like okay, yeah, we have to do this.' Hey, maybe the future didn't turn out to be a complete bust.
 
So you've been doing a lot of multimedia stuff recently, like with the fax machine stunt, where you sent the album's artwork to fax machines and then sent your fans to track them down, or the Buzzfeed gifs tracklisticle. How much of that is just promoting the album and how much of that is like a natural extension of the ideas of what the album is about?

Jona: I think it's 100% natural, and it just happens to be promoting the album, but these are projects that we'd probably do anyways and that we spearheaded, rather than the label trying to get us to promote the record or anything like that.
 
Claire: Yeah, making a record is a thing on its own, but we also see making a record as an opportunity to take on a whole bunch of different kinds of online and offline experiences for artists and designers. It's really fun to have an opportunity like a record; you have an excuse to do weird stuff, which is what we love to do anyways.

So where did the idea for the fax machine album cover art quest come from?
 
Jona: I don't know. I've kind of always liked fax machines. I was in a pop-punk band in the mid-'90s and we, in earnest, used fax machines to spam record labels and show promoters to get them to try to book shows and maybe work with us in some capacity.

Claire: You know, before the Internet.

Jona: Yeah, it never worked. I'm also really interested in different ways of image processing. When fax machines send images, it's a binary of one and zero, black or white. And the way that it processed the album cover, I just really loved.

Claire: Fax is a technology for us that's really interesting, just in the sense that it continues to exist in the world, even though it's not the primary mode of communication for people, but we saw it as an opportunity to kind of engage with this latent technology that is just sort of sitting there waiting for something weird to be done to it. The combination of its slight inferiority of image quality and its limited distribution was really interesting to us.

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It reminds me of the way that younger bands these days are putting their albums out on cassette. It's such an obsolete, dead medium that in a way becomes kind of nostalgic and romantic.

Claire: I think that's an inevitable part of the way technology is developed and then passed by. The things that are limiting about technology then become the things that are charming about them and you don't realize that often until they've come and gone.

So tell me about the ideas behind the album and the album title, I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler. Would you both consider yourselves to be futurists?

Claire: I think being a futurist, like a self-defining futurist, is kind of a racket, frankly.  We're both very interested in the future, and I am an editor of science fiction and I care a lot about the future, we're both always paying attention to technology, but nobody has a claim on it. That's what's interesting about the future, you know? Anyone who comes up and tells you that they know what computers are gonna look like in 25 years, run away, because they don't, nobody knows.

Jona: But it's always fun to see people fail. David Byrne said that computers would never be used to make art or music.

Claire: No one's predictions of the future are ever right. I think for us, it's a question of looking forward and understanding the present. That's what's interesting about science fiction is that it tells us way more about the present of its writing than anything about the actual future. It becomes like a time capsule. "This is about the Cold War." Futurism is the most accurate way of representing the present that there is. 

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And for this one, you've brought in some bigger names on the production side. In the past, you've always been kind of a self-contained unit. But for this one, you worked with Jacknife Lee and Justin Meldal-Johnsen. How'd that come about?

Claire: Yeah, I mean we've made every record ourselves for the past 12 years.

Jona: Yeah I mean our bass player, Bobby Birdman, has always been a collaborator before even playing with the band. We've never imagined ever working with anyone other than one of the three of us, and so when we got to meet Jacknife, we were very afraid of even the potential of working with someone else, just because we kind of make everything in a vacuum. We like what we like. It's hard to talk about ourselves and to explain where we're coming from and so it's much easier when we collab with someone we've been friends with for more than ten years and they're like, "Yeah, I understand what you want to make and what you like."

Claire: It's interesting to see how other people hear your music while you're making it. It's useful to have that outside ear.

Jona: We just always assumed that we were the greatest pieces of shit. And then Jacknife, from the outside, was like, "No, this is actually good, this is how I'm actually hearing it," which is so humbling and also overwhelmingly positive. 

So were there any particular ideas or like directions he suggested that surprised you that you don't think you would have thought of on your own?
 
Claire: In terms of what they brought, I think that there were definite structural things that were helpful, just like "Hey, what if you cut this part in half or like turned it upside down, would it sound better?" And then we'd be like, "Oh yeah, we hadn't even thought of that." 

Jona: Yeah, we never really prided ourselves on like reading every manual and learning every technical thing about creating music. We've always approached it with a much fuller perspective or feeling as much as we can -- without having years of relying on every piece of perfect software. I've always tried to use computers like... if I can't just jump into something without reading the manual, then it's not worth working in. So, having like a team of people work on this record that have way more technical knowledge, it's really interesting and a great resource to have access to.

So you released your tracklist on Buzzfeed with a bunch of gifs for each song. I couldn't tell if you were purposefully subverting Buzzfeed, gif and Twitter-type culture, or celebrating, or mocking in it. What was the idea behind that?

Jona: Yeah, so we're 100% subverting it. We wanted to make fun of Buzzfeed and coming up with the idea "tracklisticle" was 100% in jest.
 
Claire: I mean, there's this culture now of just being a fan in the 21st century, and this endless treadmill of trying to make sure that you're up on all these playlist platforms and that you're distributing things in the most unique and interesting and innovative way. Like, you can't just put up a song anymore, you have to put up a song and some type of gimmick. It has to be a 3-D VR experience (laughs), which is fun for us because we love design projects, we're not one of those artists who are like "fuck the bullshit." But at the same time, it's a lot to ask of people who spent their time working on a song. It's tough, trying to write material within that restraint, like the restraint of the tracklisticle, that can still be profound and interesting and reflect what our world means to us. It's not about reducing it to its simplest element and dumbing it down and making fun of it, but how can we use these parameters, which are parameters being imposed on us and other artists, and do something meaningful within that framework.

Yeah, because on the one hand, stuff like Buzzfeed and Twitter are kind of dumb and we should all be better than that. But on the other hand, it's kind of fun and hey, it gets the message out there.

Jona: Well, the tracklisticle is not dumb. 

Claire: Yeah, well, Twitter is dumb. But it's also the most important tool of protest. So there are all these things happening in layers and layers and one thing I'm interested in is trying to hit both the high and the low, and hopefully at once, because that's the world that we live in. We all want to do projects that are both intellectual to a certain extent but at the same time can be reduced to 140 characters. And if you can do both, then I guess you can kind of integrate yourself into the larger picture.

The band was originally based in Portland, right?
 
Claire: Mhm, yeah.

When did you move to LA?

Claire: We moved to LA four years ago. I went to college here.
 
What made you decide to pack up and move there?

Jona: We've been on tour around the world and every weird little corner, and LA is our very favorite city in the world. I can't imagine living anywhere else. And we definitely don't want to live anywhere else right now. 

Claire: And I'm one of those LA street geeks who's so interested in, like, water politics in California, all that stuff. I mean, LA's just a weird, improbable place. It was never meant to be here. The environment cannot stand existence, and yet, by sheer force of will it created itself and engineered itself into existence. And I feel that every day.

And on the same topic, what was the idea behind the 5 Every Day website and app you're doing?
 
Claire: We started it when we first moved back.

Jona: We moved here and we were just trying to figure out where to look for worthwhile events and restaurants and anything like that, and stuff like Time Out and Zagat kept falling short for us. And we were like, "Where's the cool version of this?" These guides are fine, but how come none of them were well written?

And do you two still write it yourselves every day?

Claire: Yeah, well. I wrote everything for about a year and a half, and now we have a head writer that I collaborate with, he's also a co-host of the 5 Every Day radio segment on NPR down here.

Jona: But yeah, we still do the majority of the curating work, which is really simple. We just use Google spreadsheets to share everything.

Claire: Yeah, it's a lot of work, but it's such a valuable resource for people, or that's what we're told anyways. It's so meaningful to us, because it allows us to give back to the city that means so much to us and to educate people about what's interesting about LA. It's not just like, "Hey, this band's performing tonight," but like, "Hey, did you ever notice this building? Well, it turns out this building doesn't have any windows because it's where all the films in Los Angeles are archived. Did you know that?" This is weird shit, learning about everything around you. What's fascinating about Los Angeles is that everywhere you go, there are hidden histories and you just simply ignore them because things are kind of ugly and spread out and everyone's driving in cars, so you don't pay attention, but there's so much happening. It's fascinating here and so we kind of wanted to share and reveal that to people.

So it sounds like a full-time job. How are you able to do that and do an album with a very complicated media strategy?

Jona: Time management. Just getting deeper and deeper into time management.

Claire: We get up early. We drink a lot of coffee. And blow off our friends. You wake up early in the morning and you have one thing that's really important that you have to do that day so that becomes the priority of that day. And the next day is something else.

Jona: There's other stuff we're not telling you about. It's endless.

Claire: But yeah, we do almost everything ourselves. I mean, we're at home working. Unless we're on tour, we're in our home office at the computer creating material for the world.

Jona: We don't have friendships; we have projects.

Claire: He means we collaborate with all of our friends. The best way to make friends with us is to get us working on a project with you.

Okay good, 'cause otherwise that sounded really sad. Now, one song that seemed to jump out and be the catchiest was "Don't Be Rude." With Twitter, and social media, people are shouting at each other and drowning each other out all the time, and I feel like this call for simple civility seems kind of weirdly radical in 2015.

Claire: Yeah, I would agree.

That was my take on it, where did it come from for you?

Claire: "Don't Be Rude" is kind of about like the simplicity of...survival requires certain element of niceness, and that's what the song's about. It's like, we all know we're in this maelstrom, but sometimes you just have to get your head above the storm and be like "la la la, my ears are plugged" and enjoy living, because what else can I do?

Right, if you think about how unfair the world is, how dark things are,  or how fucked the environment is all the time, you'll never get anything done.

Claire: Yeah, and you'll never be able to do any good.

Right, well that makes a lot of sense in a way I think. You know, you have to sometimes be kind of naive, like you said.

Claire: I mean, ignorance is bliss might be too simplistically a way to think about it, but as human beings, we throw ourselves into things again and again, even though we know the results are going to be the same, because of some type of fundamental ambition that we have as a species. We continue to fall in love, even though we know that it's gonna end badly every time, because there's value in that, in the trying.

Watch Tinashe's Video Game-Inspired Video for "Player"

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Up-and-coming star Tinashe will soon release Joyride, her follow-up to last year's enormously successful Aquarius, and last night she dropped a video for one of the new album's tracks. Titled "Player," it's an enjoyable song that transforms a romantic dance into a video game, with several rounds of highly stylized combat in love. The video and song are both fun enough, except that Chris Brown has to show up and make everything squicky and gross. Maybe there'll be an edit at some point where he vanishes and never comes back? Watch the video for "Player" below.

Sleigh Bells Says Demi Lovato Sampled Their Songs Without Permission

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sleighbells.jpgBrooklyn-based noise pop duo Sleigh Bells took to Twitter to call out Demi Lovato (and her production team) for illegally sampling two singles from their blistering 2010 debut Treatsin her song "Stars" from her latest album, Confident.

demi-lovato-confident-promos.jpgDerek Miller, the guitarist and producer for the popular indie band, very politely suggested that Lovato borrowed the beats from "Riot Rhythm" and a few moments from "Infinity Guitars."

Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 10.08.34 AM.pngUpon hearing "Stars," the sonic plagiarism is undeniable.
 





Lovato has not commented yet, but of course, her blood-thirsty militia of Lovatics have set out to vanquish Sleigh Bells, and all those who defend them, on Twitter.


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This summer, Lovato was also questioned for possibly ripping off Katy "I HATE NUNS!" Perry's classic "Kissed a Girl," and also Jessie J's "Domino" in her addictive hit "Cool for the Summer."

Demi tweeted this somewhat "Girl, what?" response.

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Waiting for Demi to tweet "I've never even heard of Crystal Castles."


Rejoice, Fetty Wap Already Has Another Project Coming

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Fetty Wap has been having a pretty excellent year -- in addition to the beaten-into-oblivion "Trap Queen," he had an enormous number of hit singles, led the Kansas City Royals to World Series victory through the power of positive thinking and the number 1738, and won the heart of Queen Bey. Now, even though he was recently in a serious motorcycle accident, Fetty is recovering nicely and has somehow announced he has a new project coming, full of fresh material. 

This is a pleasant surprise indeed -- which mostly means we should listen to "679" on repeat until he finally decides to have this new EP come our way. [via Complex]

Scenes from Overthrow Boxing Club's Pre-Halloween Party

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For those looking for a little something on extra on Halloween, Overthrow Boxing Club, the boxing gym in Soho started by model-photographer-boxer Charlie Himmelstein, hosted a bash on Friday night that featured attractive guests decked out in costumes and, yep, boxing matches. The crowd could go back-and-forth between two floors for drinks and to hear a live performance by rapper Le1f and towards the end of the night, some good-looking fighters stepped into the ring for a throwdown. Take a look at photos by Rebecca Smeyne below.






Le1f











Charlie Himmelstein and Ashley Smith







If a Kardashian Has a Party and There Wasn't a Photo Booth, Did It Really Happen?

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Kendall-Jenner-covers-Vogue.jpgToday, Kendall Jenner turns 20.

Like most 20-year-olds, Kendall is a millionaire.

Screen-Shot-2014-12-17-at-12.05.41-PM.pngSo, to celebrate her passage into non-teendom, Kenny threw a birthday party last night in Los Angeles, featuring a host of fellow famous millionaires, including her very-much-still-a-teen sister, Kylie, who wore a wig.

Some of the roster of players: Kim Kardashian West and her husband, Kourtney/Khloe, Kris Jenner and her boyfriend Cory Gamble, Willow and Jaden Smith, Gigi Hadid, Tyler the Creator, Tyga, Justin Bieber, Drake, Ruby Rose, Gary Busey, Jean Claude Van Damme, the 1996 US Olympic Gymnastics Team, Sophie B Hawkins, The "Mambo #5" music video, Tiffany, Phil Spector (on Furlough), Suri Cruise, Princess Anne, Julia from that Model UN conference in high school who you haven't spoken to since 2007, a crow, Vera Farmiga, my mom texting "How do you copy and paste?", the state of Delaware, a fully in-tact Blockbuster video.

blockbuster-photo-3.jpgIn true Kardashian fashion, there was a photo booth.

There is always a photo booth...

KimKPhotoBooth.jpg...and always black and white photos, and always "Silly take from a class Yearbook picture" faces.


Photobooth-for-Kylies-Graduation.jpgAlways, always, always; dozens, if not thousands, crammed inside.
 kim-kardashian-kanye-west-wedding-photo-booth.jpgHere are some highlights from last night's festivities:

Kylie Jenner, serving Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface


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"I'm gonna go wait in the car after this"-Kanye

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Charles Manson? That u?

Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 11.14.18 AM.png"You girls want to come over and check out my Criterion DVD collection later?"-Drake

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How do so many living humans fit into one frame?

It's astounding!

Good for them.

Here are some other unreleased photo booth snaps from Kenny Turns 10+10:

Sokol1924.jpghuman-pyramid.jpgthe_crowd_taken_for_sam_hoods_news_photo_services_huge_crowd_in_the_domain_to_hear_communist_party_speaker_c_1934.jpg
18452u_Photistoric_HD_LOC.jpg7Z0Qdh3.jpgmichael-kelley-los-angeles-aerial-downtown-1.jpgla_aerial.jpgHappy birthday, Kendall!













Meet Jon Moody, the Painter Beloved By Rappers, Lee Daniels and Pepsi

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L1040980 (2).JPGTwo skeletons emerge from a car parked on a street in the Bywater, a popular New Orleans neighborhood so close to the French Quarter the sounds of brass bands can be heard in the breeze. Near the car, a group of ghouls congregate by a bar. A pedicab, full of gold-wigged partiers, races off into the rain. Halloween night in Nola is a big deal, so people all around the city are on the hunt for the best party.  
 
But inside Jon Moody's shared shotgun-house-turned-studio space, the 23-year-old artist is at work. In the past few months, he's had "splash style" portraits commissioned by Future, Trey Songz, and Lil Wayne. Oh, and one of his prints was recently hung in the White House's east ballroom.
 
"Growing up in New Orleans encouraged me to be an artist," he says. "There wasn't a doubt in my mind that I could do this."
 
Although Moody now gets commissioned by famous rappers, he started his art life like a lot of kids: by drawing cartoons. He'd watch Mickey Mouse and draw the Disney character in crayon (which he says was "terrible"). In high school, Moody would get in trouble for drawing in class rather than paying attention -- he remembers getting called out for illustrating one of his teachers with gum falling out of his mouth.

L1040996 (2).JPGDuring this time, he also played football and basketball. The word "artist" isn't often paired with "athlete," but Moody embodies both. He gets artistic inspiration from athletes and watches their training programs, motivational videos, and interviews with people such as boxer Floyd Mayweather.
 
"A lot of things go hand-in-hand in the two fields," he says. "Definitely discipline is the main thing. I looked at art as something very competitive."
 
In college, Moody ran track at Savannah College of Art and Design, where he received an undergrad degree in visual effects and a masters in painting. He returned to his home city and it wasn't long before the Likquid Art and Pepsi Creator team found him through his Instagram account and tapped him to create a painting in their Pepsi Art Dome at Voodoo Fest. The painting shows a young, black boy with blood trickling down his face. His background in visual effects made the Voodoo Fest animated installation especially appealing to him.
 
"For me, it was the future of how movies are going to be played," Moody says of the installation. "You're surrounded by the work, so it's more impactful on you -- it feels like you're moving."

L1050026 (2).JPGMoody is interested in animation, but right now he's more drawn to creating murals and painting by hand. His paintings are often large-scale and focus on the human form. They combine vivid colors and raw emotion to tell a story.
 
"My work is not just about a pretty image," he says. "My personal work has to have some type of meaning. There has to be some purpose behind it."
 
Fox's Empire co-creator Lee Daniels noticed the impact of Moody's art. One of his paintings can be found hanging in middle son Jamal's bedroom on the second season of the hit show. Daniels liked the work so much, he sent Moody a video message, which the artist saved on his phone.
 
"I'm so in love with this artist," Daniels said in the video. "He's a fucking amazing artist."
 
All of Moody's success has come before his first actual show. He hopes to have his official debut in January at his shared studio space, 622 Elysian Fields. The space is called "draw and jrink," because in the front room people can pay to drink wine and paint (Moody's large paintings stay mostly in the back room). He wants his first show to be a nontraditional experience that will get people talking for the weeks that follow. Until then, he'll be busy working.
 
"There's like this 'starving artists' idea, or that it's not going to pay bills," he said. "But growing up in New Orleans, I never felt like I couldn't live off being an artist."



Watch Carly Rae Jepsen's Modern Cinderella Story in the Video For "Your Type"

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Carly Rae Jepsen's sophomore LP E•MO•TION is perhaps one of the most underrated yet impeccably constructed pop albums of the year. Her new video for the anthemic "Your Type" sees Jepsen down-on-her-luck getting headphones stolen at the bus stop completely transforming into a glamorous rock star once she triumphantly takes the stage at a glitzy dive bar. The video concludes with the smooth radio DJ/narrator giving a cryptic moral "we need our imaginations to survive, or do our imaginations need...never mind" but I think the true take away is that you can turn your worst days into your best with a tiara and silvery high heels.

Kool A.D. Forecasts Your November Horoscopes

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Trouble with love? Work problems? Mercury retrograde? Don't worry. Rapper, author of the forthcoming novel O.K. (Sorry House), and expert astrological navigator, Kool A.D. will safely guide you through the coming month.
 

SCORPIO


Every woman on earth is somebody's daughter. I know u know this but think about it and consider it more, truly sit with that knowledge and meditate on it. If ur a dude, consider how male privilege has benefited u and/or enabled u to hurt, further oppress, or otherwise impede the success or freedom of women. Apologize to all of the women in ur life u may have harmed, whether consciously or unconsciously and apologize to urself for damaging ur own karma in doing so. Consider any bad luck in ur life to be karma for things u may not have considered transgressions. We create our universes but our universes also create us so be kind to urself. Being kind to other people is another means of being kind to urself being that we're all one cosmic supersoul. If ur a woman, think about how every man on earth is somebody's son. Consider forgiveness conceptually but still fight for justice, which is a higher form of forgiveness. Evil and wrongdoing is not at the root of human beings, it occurs when human beings forget or lose sight of the love that is at their root. Consider the constructs of gender and also the biological oddities of sex, the hermaphrodites, the extra chromosomal beings, the eunuchs, stigmatization of human hairs in various forms, combinations and contexts, sweat-shaming, slut-shaming and body weight. Run thru the encyclopedia of gender studies issues then listen to Drake and read some Rumi or something, I don't know, literally do whatever u want. Think about how sex and gender play into race and class and society and how these and all other concepts are inextricably interrelated. Consider the billions of human hearts and minds on this planet and consider the hundreds of billions of planets in our universe. What's the difference between a hundred billion and infinity? Infinity. Consider human consciousness as merely one specific version of a greater cosmic consciousness. Love is a positive force that binds and fear is a negative force that destroys. The positive and the negative are created and informed by each other. Consider the physicality of the male orgasm and the metaphysicality of the female organism. Consider the woman's physicality in growing a human body within hers and the the man's metaphysicality manifested in his seed ripening into a human fruit. Consider abortion as a woman's right, being that possession is nine tenths of the law and that the universe is a mother spirit. Consider the metaphysicality of the physical realm, laying just above, behind, below, around it. Consider how the physical realm is a reflection of the metaphysical realm. Imagine a world of happiness, love and equality and then be that.

SAGITTARIUS

Bernie Sanders is a real one but astrologically speaking I'ma have to call it like this: 2016 to 2024 is Hillary (she may be crooked but that's the old school way and she "earned" it), 2024 to 2032 is Kanye, 2032 to 2040 is Michelle Obama, 2040 is u and then after that there's no presidents. But sure, throw Bernie in as veep on all of those.

Listen to Radkey, they're tight. Also listen to Brian Eno, MGMT, The Rolling Stones, Blind Boy Fuller, Radiohead, The Specials, Special Forces, Intrepid A.A.F., Tricky, Bjork, Primal Scream, Party Animal(particularly the new album Avant Garbage), Younger Lovers, Chest Full of Arrows, Unlocking the Truth, Cerebral Ballzy, Trash Talk, Death, Stoned Vengeance and Hirax. Sagittarius is a very Bad Brains-oriented sign, so keep em in the ro. Watch The Motivation and The Motivation 2. Do an ollie.

CAPRICORN

Kick it with a Scorpio. Listen to KOOL A.D. Get ur bars up. Dust off the MPC and make a slapper. Record a fire 16. Tweet at Thom Yorke. Hit the gym. Bench press 300. Tweet at Salman Rushdie. Learn to play the harp. The stars are aligned for u this month fam. Get active, go out and do the thang. Ante up. Yap dem fools. Ante up. Kidnap dem fools. Listen to Black Uhuru and Burning Spear. The world is full up of living contradictions, all we have is our convictions. That's Junior Murvin, I think. Consistency is key. Never worry urself with what could have been but rather think of what is and what will be. Live poetically. If u live poetically, any insult to ur character is automatically unpoetic and cannot move u. Poetry compliments the universe mane, poetry is not dead. Buy an Aztec calendar, throw on some Santana, smoke a doob and just gaze at the thang. A wise man by the name of Lao-Tze once said, AND I QUOTE:

"PEACE ALLAH JAH RASTAFARI CHANGO
PEACE ALLAH KINETIC PEACE
LOVE
LOVE
JOY
THE ACTUAL
LOVE IS ACTUAL
LOVE IS THE TRUTH
FORGIVE URSELF AND EVERYBODY ELSE
HELP URSELF TO THE DELIGHTS OF THE EARTH
THE EARTH HAS MANY NATURAL BEAUTIES AND DELIGHTS
PEEP THE FLOWERS, THE OCEANS AND ITS WAVES
PEEP MOUNTAINS
LOOK AT THE MOUNTAINS AND PEEP GAME
PEEP THE RIVERS
MY EYES HAVE PEEPED RIVERS AND MY SOUL HAS GROWN DEEP LIKE THE RIVERS
I HAVE BEEN UGLY AND I HAVE BEEN BEAUTIFUL
I NOW CHOOSE BEAUTY
BEAUTY OVER ALL ELSE
BEAUTY OVER EVERYTHING
THE REAL AND TRUE BEAUTIFUL TRUTH
I CAN'T HANDLE ANYTHING LESS IT MAKES ME TOO WEAK TO CONSIDER THOSE
OTHER OPTIONS NOW
I WISH TO GROW INTO A STRONGER ME
7 STORIES HIGH
UNFILTERED AND RAW BEAUTIFUL LOVE
LIFE MAN LOOK AT LIFE AND HOW IT FINDS US
WE ARE THE UNIVERSE GAZING AT ITSELF
SAY WOW
SAY WOW NOW
WOW NOW
THIS IS NOW
THIS IS THE MOMENT AND THE MOMENT IS NOW
UR HEARING THIS MOMENT IN UR EARS RIGHT NOW AND WHAT IS THAT DOING TO U
UR SEEING THIS MOMENT IN UR EYES
UR THINKING THIS MOMENT IN UR THOUGHTS
IS THIS THE NOISE OR THE MUSIC THAT U CUT THRU THE NOISE TO FIND?
THE DIFFERENCE IS IN UR MIND
THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN U AND ME
WHEN I RESIDE IN UR MIND I AM U AND U ARE ME
THESE ARE OUR VOICES AND VISAGES FOR OURSELVES TO HEAR AND SEE
IF U LIVE COMPLETELY FOR NOW THEN U LIVE ALSO FOR THEN AND ALSO FOR WHAT IS NEXT
NOW IS WHAT IS NEXT AND WHAT'S NEXT CONTAINS NOW AND WHAT WAS
TOMORROW IS THE SHADOW OF TODAY AND TODAY IS THE SHADOW OF YESTERDAY
PEACE SUN RA
PEACE TO THE SUPER BLOOD MOON AND THE BLOOD AND THE BILLIONS OF
EARTHLY MAMMALIAN UTERNE LININGS SHED WITH HER FULL TWIST
THE MOON
THE MOON
THE SUN TOO THE SUN
POETRY AINT DEAD MY NEGUS
IM AT FLOWERLAND WITH A MOCHA AND A CHOCOLATE COCONUT DONUT
TWO WHITE HIPPIES ARE UNLOADING A TRUCKLOAD OF FLOWERS
"BILLIONS OF TINY PURPLE BLUE THINGS" IS THE PULL QUOTE
EL CERRITO
THE HILL
THE LITTLE HILL
THE ANT HILL
IM A BACHELOR OF ENGLISH LETTERS BUT I FEEL LIKE A DOCTOR OR AT LEAST A MASTER
I HAVE RECITED POETRY AT IMPORTANT SCHOOLS AND PARLORS THRU OUT THE WORLD
BUT  WHO CARES
MY SINS INCLUDE LUST, GREED, PRIDE, JEALOUSY, WRATH, THE OCCASIONAL GLUTTONY,
A REAL BIBLICAL MILIEU
PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING BUT ENVY
I GUESS I ENVY THE GOOD
SO YEA ENVY TOO
ALL SEVEN
WILL I ENTER THE KINGDOM OF EVERLASTING LIFE OR NAH?
DO HEAVEN AND HELL EXIST AS OTHER WORLDS ARE THEY MERELY ATTITUDES ON
THIS EARTHLY PLANE?
WE ARE ALREADY IN PARADISE
LOVE AND FORGIVE EVERYONE INCLUDING URSELF
ASK FOR LOVE AND FORGIVENESS AND PATIENCE
MOVE WITH CONVICTION
BREATHE IN AND OUT
SOME ADVICE IS TOO SIMPLE AND GOES UNHEARD
SOME ADVICE IS TOO COMPLEX AND UNFOLDS ITS PETALS AT A RATE THAT
NOBODY BOTHERS TO EXAMINE WITH PATIENCE
ALL THINGS COME TO AN END MANE, ALL THINGS ARRIVE AT THEY CONCLUSIONS
NO WORDS CAN EVER SAY ANYTHING
WE TRY TO BE GOOD I THINK WE ALL DO
I TRY TO BE GOOD
I WISH I COULD BE BETTER
I TRY EVERY DAY I REALLY DO
ANYWAY...

LO K ERES ERES
NO HAY MAS
NO HAY NADA, NADA
AMÓR, SEVGÍ
Et
Y
I WANT!
I WANT!
I DO NOT WANT!

I HAVE NO TIME 4 LANGUAGE
2 CATCH UP 2
ME
POETIX AINT DEAD
ITZ ALIVE N WELL IN THE COMPUTERZ & ON THE MARQUEEZ ETC
ON TV
ON THA RADIO
NAW FUGGIT
ON NETFLIX N CHURL
ON THE HURLY BURLY SHOULDERS OF 8 BILLION SHRUGGIN ATLI
BUT HOOZ COUNTIN
N.-E.-WAYZ
LET UR DESIRE EVAPORATE
LET UR EGO DISSOLVE
TRU POETIX X-IST EN SILENCIO
THE TRUEST WORD IS NOT WRIT NOT EVN SPAKE
THE TRUIST DRAWERLING IZNT DRAW'D
TRUIST THOT UNTHUNK
Y BOTHER?
NO REEZIN
NO RYHME
JUST BREEZIN BEELZEBUB BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE CHANGO
ALLAH HU AKBAR JAH RASTAFARI YEMAYA YEMAYA AYE BABALU AYE CHANGO JAH
JAH ALLAH JAH RASTA PEACE ALLAH JESUS DIOS LAS DIOSAS LA
MAMMASANTISIMA YEMAYA YEMAYA CHANGO BABALU AYE

THE MOON AND UR HEART ARE IN LEO RN

PEACE ALLAH ZARATHUSTRA JAH RASTA CHANGO.


AQUARIUS

Feliz Dia de los Muertes. How come when black people loot and riot after senseless police violence that's all u see on TV but when hella black people peacefully marched on Washington in remembrance of the Million Man March, there was little to no coverage by any major TV news outlets? Dog, not to mention the USA bombed a hospital in Afghanistan last month and nobody seemed to want to talk about that either. Bernie won the debate but CNN said Hillary did and erased hella comments saying otherwise because they're owned by Time Warner who backs Hillary. The Bush family stole at least two elections in order to perpetuate war in the oil rich Middle East. The electoral college is a sophist scam to undermine popular democracy. And if that's just the news we heard about, who knows about all the foul shit that happened that we haven't heard about. Bruh we're basically living in Nazi Germany rn. The laundry list of atrocities committed ostensibly in our names is sickening. U feel like leaving the country but where to go? The world is fucked. The American problem is a global problem. U can't really run away from it. It just boils down, I think, to a matter of making every aspect of ur life an act of dissent and protest. And not like constantly screaming and breaking shit (while occasionally effective at key moments, it's a tiring and ultimately unsustainable way of living) so much as calmly asking urself what is needed of u in any given situation and generally just being a better and kinder person who thinks critically and compassionately. And also actively communicating with those around u about what collective actions can be made to change things. That being said, leaving America is not a bad symbolic gesture of protest if u can afford it. Move to Bahrain like Michael Jackson did or Cuba like Assata did or Paris like Josephine Baker or Richard Wright or Nina Simone too I think I don't know. Or whatever, do u. U have been doing a lot of introspection, lately and that's all good and healthy and whatnot and u have been concerned about ur selfish, hurtful and/or unrighteous actions in the past but it's time to turn ur attention to the present and its unfolding future. No matter how fucked up u may have been as a person at whatever points in ur life u can't go back and change that but u can always decide right now that u want to change for the better. The fucked up nature of the world manifests in the fucked up nature of the self and vice versa. Kill the cop inside of u. If ur actually a cop at the very least I guess just quit ur job.

PISCES

Sell some of ur stuff, Pare down to the essentials. Live like a solider of love. Listen to that Sade song "Soldier of Love" matterfact listen all the other Sade songs. Kick it with another Pisces and compare notes. Walk into every building like u own it but ur looking to sell it to the first prospective buyer then taking that money and burning it. Consider light and shadow as substantive creatures delivering the universal truth to ur person. Record a based freestyle mixtape and distribute it to friends and family. Who is Albert Einstein? Think about that. Watch that NWA movie. Listen to that Ice Cube album The Predator while watching the Arnold Schwartzenegger movie The Predator. Listen to All Eyez on Me by 2-Pac.

ARIES

U have been shedding excess spiritual baggage all year and this period of time is no different. Ur becoming newer with each breath. Ur a tour de force. Much of the world can't keep up with ur pace so u need to remember patience. Someone new is entering ur stage, ur dialog with them will greatly advance the plot. It's a studious time for u and that's pretty moon orientated but don't forget the sun in these times, feel me? I feel like I told u to listen to John and Alice Coltrane last month, right? I'd say stay on that kick. Also throw some Pharaoh Sanders on that list. Return a library book and check out a new one, literally or metaphorically. Change all of ur passwords. Listen to "The First Verse of the Tao Te Ching" by Party Animal.

TAURUS

Renovate and expand ur dream architecture. Perform an elaborate opera in ur dreamz. The opera house is seven stories high with a nine-story wine cellar. Heaven and hell are both earthly and attitudinal in nature. Write something for urself this month. Death is unnecessary. Life is eternal once the eternal is realized within the mind as a possible concept. Death is a game. To play it is to lose it. Life is a game too, to play that is to win it. Ceaseless game, baby, it's hot or cold, baby, it's ages and stages, feel me. It's all this plus that and the other. Build a bigger table, not a higher fence feel me a house not built is better never built at all or mayhaps ever built. Google "aeronaut." Do an ollie. Grind that rail. Hit a bump of molly out of somebody's bellybutton.


GEMINI

Think critically about ur political position in the world. Ask what u can do for ur people but also ask what ur people can do for u. We're all in it together but u don't have to go full martyr to be a compassionate person. Go watch somebody speak to a large group of people using a microphone. Maybe do that urself too. The trouble with imagining Utopias is that the radical changes in these worlds can often enough pan out as dystopic from another point of view. Gandhi once said "Be the change u want to see in the world" and he ain't never lie. What can one person do? Perhaps a better question is what can't one person do? Research how much it would cost to convert to solar energy. It's probably worth it considering all the money u would save cutting out ur energy bill. Couldn't hurt am I right. Convert ur car so it runs on biodiesel. There's so much dookie in the world why haven't we figured out how to fertilize all our crops with it and make energy out of whatever's leftover? But we know how to make hella different bombs and firearms to kill each other? That's crazy. Speaking of which, however, I think that "gun control" as implemented by our obviously racist, classist, pseudo-democratic, hyper-corporatized, terroristic, colonialist, imperialist government would in effect be more concerned with limiting the means of the people to defend themselves from and rise up against their oppressive government than it would be about saving innocent lives. Mass shootings, like the excessive rash of police brutality in our culture, bespeak deep rooted systemic problems with society that go beyond the mere physicality of guns. Moreover, until the cops put down their guns I think it's unfair to ask civilians to do so. And in order to do all that, I feel like the gun factories would have to close and that would require a major cosmic shift in human consciousness much larger than that last super blood moon. Prob have something to do with Mars, the Sun and maybe Pluto if u axe me. Be wary of the presence of insects around u in this season. Refrain from eating anywhere that has flies.

CANCER


We live on display as much as life is displayed to us. Existence is a fashion show, life is a zoovie. Pain is an illusion. Get a tattoo. Fear is a joke. Get "FEAR IS A JOKE" tattooed on ur neck. Take a long drive. Drive til the tank is empty. On the drive listen to nothing but classic KOOL A.D. songs.  Like Leo, u should also listen to Sonic Youth, Equipto and Frank Zappa. Also Andre Nickatina. And Romantic Gorilla. Watch Doraemon in Spanish. Run on the beach. Watch the first episode of Pokemon. Watch Winter Soldier (not the Captain America one), watch the documentary on Vietnam vets testifying before congress. Spray paint "kill whitey" on the door of the Hotsy Totsy on San Pablo.

LEO

Deface a symbol of gentrification on the night of the full moon. Listen to Sonic Youth. Like I told Capricorn last month, listen to Equipto. The broad strokes do the heavy lifting, the details happen along the way, pure gesture is free of effort. Apply ur effort to follow-thru in lieu of trying to force gesture. Commit to the accident of the gesture. Some have said that gesture is meaningless. I would say gesture is pure meaning. Embrace mistakes. Change is better than erasure. U can perform subtraction using addition. Apply this theory across the board. Casualize ur mind. Can u perform addition with subtraction? Probably. Try that too. Try some multiplication, that's probably the main thing. Stop at nothing short of total freedom. Pure and total freedom of the self includes and in fact actually requires freedom of all others.

VIRGO

An ideal society has no crime and no police, no money and no poverty, universal leadership without formal government, no laws and no outlaws, no inequality, etc. I'd say short of that, or rather, on the way to that, here's a lil #obamabasedgod based freestyle with some novel ideas that u can think on and take or leave: abolish the death penalty, gardens and solar panels on every roof, trees lining every street, less (or no) money in foreign oil, fracking and coal, and more in solar, wind, biodiesel, more money and research in converting human waste into fuel and fertilizer, more electric cars and water powered engines, free all drug offenders and political prisoners, fuck, maybe even just free everybody, free universal health care and mental health care, more counseling, less prisons, or no prisons, legalize all drugs, prostitution and gambling, outlaw pesticides and/or subsidize or otherwise incentivize organic farming, raise minimum wage and instate maximum wage/salary caps, turn all corporations/businesses/factories into shared equity co-ops, forgive all student loans and make colleges free, forgive all credit debt, abolish rent and fill all foreclosed homes with the homeless, withdraw all troops on foreign soil and send diplomats, food, clothing, teachers and goods, open all borders, turn swords into plowshares and let guns dissolve back into the earth's mineral beds, allow citizens to vote on where their tax dollars go by making voting day and tax day occur on the same day and make that day a national holiday, maybe make it a week long or month long annual event with various public forums and town hall debates, make voting as comprehensive as taxing, or fuck it, ideally there's no voting or taxes because everybody is already working for the betterment of each other anyway right? I don't know man, do whatever I guess. To quote KOOL A.D. "Everybody love everybody." DO YOU FEEL ME?


LIBRA

U recently had a disappointment that was a blessing in disguise. Let go of whatever negative emotions u may have harbored whether consciously or unconsciously and move forward with new energy and vigor for the projects at hand. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Like Sagittarius, u should be listening to Brian Eno. Also listen toArt Blakey, Johnny Cash, Augustus Pablo and Selda Bagcan. Give 20 bucks to the next homeless person u see. There are about 5 times as many vacant houses in this country as there are homeless people. There is enough food on earth right now to feed everybody twice but 795 million people (one in nine people) on earth are starving. Think about the collective abstractions of the minds of the rich and powerful (and everybody else for that matter) that must occur to allow these injustices to stand and what can be done to fix this thinking and these issues. Understand also that ultimately we are a tiny speck in an effectively endless universe and that if our collective consciousness was extinguished by like an asteroid or whatever other cosmic harbinger of destruction nobody would really miss us. These nihilistic truths withstanding, it doesn't mean give up, it just means like "rage, rage against the dying of the light," that's from that Matt McConaughey movie Interstellar. It's actually a quote from Dylan Thomas, a prominent white dude of earth. Bob Dylan named himself after dude. U saw that IBM commercial where Bob Dylan is talking to a computer? Prob the best piece of filmmaking I've seen in years, tied with the Steve Jobs movie and Top Five. Write, direct and star in a movie called Three Way Tie about how if u had to pick if u were a better writer, director or actor it would be a three-way tie.












Frances Bean Cobain Apparently Has A Doll Made With Kurt Cobain's Hair

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Yesterday, Julien's Auctions put two Kurt Cobain memorabilia items for sale including a 10-inch lock of his hair. However, as originally noted by Jezebeltucked away in the informational blurb is extremely important information regarding the fact that Frances Bean Cobain apparently has a doll made with other pieces of Kurt's hair -- which is equal parts heart-warming and slightly off-putting.

The backstory is that doll maker/comic artist Dame Darcy acquired the hair when Courtney Love commissioned a doll for Frances Bean, using said locks. And this piece that's currently for sale just happened to be what was a leftover. And to certify the veracity of said origin story, the hair even comes with a (comic book-style) letter of authenticity by Darcy that talks about visualizing herself as a mermaid. K.

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And while Jezebel could not find other sources confirming a "Kurt-haired doll online," Love and Darcy have a well-documented relationship, as evidenced by videos of them making (more) dolls together. 


[h/t Jezebel


Good Charlotte is Back to Soundtrack Your Winter Anxiety

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Oh, it's Good Char-lit -- Alternative Press reports that the band is getting back together after a four-year hiatus. This is great news for everyone who ever had a phase of listening to "The Anthem" on repeat while using a Sharpie to draw the tattoos they would get if their parents would only stop being old fogies (which means me, you, and everyone we know). The break was Madden-ing, but we're ready to get back to it, with the best poppy emo-adjacent salve for the winter Seasonal Affective Disorder that will probably start to ail you in just a couple of days (you're young and hopeless, we get you). And prepare to tear down the lifestyles of the rich and famous with this video behind the scenes of our cover shoot with the band from the long-ago time of... 2007.

Bad Brains Guitarist Dr. Know Reportedly On Life Support

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Dr. Know, guitarist for punk legends Bad Brains, is currently on life support in an undisclosed hospital.  According to Rolling Stone, the news of Dr. Know, real name Gary Miller, first came to light via a post on music journalist Greg Tate's Facebook on Sunday night. Along with the rest of Bad Brains, Dr. Know has played a smattering of live dates this year, including a Woodstock Session

As the story broke online, Bad Brains released the following statement via their Facebook.  

"The Bad Brains family ask that you please keep Gary (Dr. Know) Miller in your thoughts and prayers. The family respectfully ask that their privacy be honored during this time and very much appreciate all the great energy that is being sent their way.

Positive vibes and PMA!"
fff

Watch the Mesmerizing Trailer for Spike Lee's Chiraq Movie

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screen-shot-2015-11-03-at-10-59-49-am.pngIn theory, Spike Lee's Chi-raq should be a total disaster. It's a movie named after "Chiraq," a term generally used to refer to Chicago's gun violence by people who don't live in Chicago in a way that is often reductive, shrill, and downright offensive. It's based on Lysistrata, a Greek play in which women withhold sex in order to end a war, which is both an interesting basis for a movie and the possible root of hundreds of bad "men are like this!" jokes. And, uh, what was the last Spike Lee joint to which you attach fond memories? (Is it Miracle at St. Anna? Don't lie -- did you really see that movie?) 

But based on the first trailer... the movie looks... really good? At the very least, it's visually snappy and fascinating, with the presence of Samuel L. Jackson as an apparent Greek chorus enlivening a cast that also includes Nick Cannon, Sasha Go Hard, and John Cusack. The locations look great, the dialogue is fun, and, best of all, it doesn't appear as overbearing as it could have been given the premise, instead giving off a heightened and absurd vibe that might allow Lee to balance comedy and seriousness. Watch the trailer below. Chi-raq hits theaters December 4.

The Game Pens More Insta-rotica Starring His Giant Dick

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Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 3.15.56 PM.pngLate last Thursday, rapper The Game, offered up an Insta-feast of his massive member, thinly disguised by his skin-tight briefs.

But more than that, the MC brought the entire Internet on a guided sexual odyssey, in the form of salaciously-worded hashtags.

Fortunately, the web responded exactly how he wanted, and Jayceon Terrell Taylor gifted us with the SECOND installment of his Big Dick Saga last night.

Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 3.22.17 PM.pngGame begins by telling the reader "I love you and you deserve to...#GetWetOnYourWayHomeFromWork."

Thanks, G.

Some highlights:

#NowPutOnUsherConfessionsAlbumAndLetItPlayThrough (trueeeeeeeee)

#PropThemPillowsSoYoureComfortable (so chivalrous!)

#NowTouchThatPearlTongueAndGoCounterClockwise

#NowReverseTheMotionAndImagineMeLickingYourLegsStartingWithYourAnkle (hmmm...ok)

But nothing compares to the greatest sentence ever written:

#ImBoutToCatchAUberDowntownToThatPussy

Dear God.

He also confirms his dietary restrictions:

"#YouBoutToGetEatOutLikeGroceries

 #ButOrganicGroceriesCauseImOnAStrictDiet."

See you at Whole Foods!



Zola's Story May Not Be Entirely True, But Don't Let That Stop You From Believing Sex Workers

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Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 4.40.06 PM.pngPhoto via Aziah King's instagram.

In a deep dive into the facts of Zola's infamous Twitter epicThe Washington Post effectively verified most of her story yesterday -- even if the entire thing begins with a note that no one actually got shot or tried to jump from a balcony. And while writer Caitlin Dewey also describes what actually happened to Zola, aka Aziah King -- and the violence that sex workers so often experience in their jobs -- as something perhaps even "crazier" than what transpired in her feed, the main takeaway has, unfortunately, been very different.



Because while Zola's tale may not be 100% true, the fact that this story's resurfaced in such a way sets a very dangerous precedent -- one that plays into the "women lie/exaggerate about sexual violence" mindset we often have as our default response to accusations of rape and assault. 
 
Even before most of the details were verified, there was already a pretty strong camp of readers who "knew" she was lying.




And while the initial response to the story was disturbing enough in the sense that the default reaction was to LOL and opine on how much of it was really true, now it's even worse with an entire sector of the Internet latching onto her exaggerations as a means of totally discrediting her entire experience. Their reactions also threaten to cast doubt on the very true stories of thousands of sex workers and victims of sexual assault -- as seen on Twitter and in the comments section of Dewey's article.

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As "Josephine," a co-editor for sex worker blog Tits & Sass, said, "every sex worker I know has a horror story. We get robbed, arrested, beaten, humiliated. The majority of our horror stories blur the line between 'awful' and 'hilarious.' At least, mine do" -- which is why, she speculates, Zola turned to humor (and some accompanying plot twists) to defuse the grim realities of her situation. It doesn't mean she's a liar or made up the parts about her getting kidnapped and trafficked, it just means she got a bit carried away in her tweeted retelling. Which, is a tad questionable, sure, but it doesn't make the meat of her story and the stories of other sex workers any less valid. This woman went through a horrible, traumatizing nightmare, and the fact that the Internet has the gall to even question her when it comes to the way she retells a life-threatening experience is bleak to say the least. 

And what does all this very public questioning of Zola's story do to other sex workers and victims of abuse? It tells them that they won't be believed, that our toxic culture of "women lie" is very, very real despite all the heartening stories about speaking up and sharing your experiences. Because ultimately, even if Zola felt like she could deal with it, there are many other women who wouldn't dream of reliving a traumatizing experience only to have it spat back in their face by a vitriolic troll.  

Bottom line -- always believe women. The world will be a better and safer place if you do.

[h/t The Washington Post

Adele Shuts Down Blur's Damon Albarn's Sexist Comments About Her Musicianship

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CS5DonNWcAAtAHP-1.jpgIn the new Rolling Stone cover story, Adele gets raw about the fruition of her upcoming comeback album, 25, including clearing the air about some grossly condescending quotes Blur's Damon Albarn gave about the singer in September.

Damon-Albarn-014.jpgAlbarn had told The Sun that the reclusive chanteuse enlisted him to collaborate on 25, and (at the time) the songs he had previewed were "middle of the road."

He went on to say, "Adele asked me to work with her and took the time out for her. And I'm not a producer so...I don't know what his happening. Will she use any of the stuff? I don't think so. Let's wait and see. The thing is, she's very insecure. And she doesn't need to be, she's still so young.'"

-_-

Ms. Adkins didn't hold back, thankfully.

She told Rolling Stone that associating with Albarn "ended up being one of those 'don't meet your idol' moments, and the saddest thing was that I was such a big Blur fan growing up. But it was sad, and I regret hanging out with him."

720x405-R1248_FEA_Adele_C__.jpgShe then went on to call his egg shell-ego bluff by basically saying the music he offered blew hard:

"None of it was right. None of it suited my record. He said I was insecure, when I'm the least-insecure person I know. I was asking his opinion about my fears, about coming back with a child involved--because he has a child--and then he calls me insecure?"

The singer also revealed that, like us, she is tapping her god damn toes waiting for the new Frank Ocean album.

"I'm just fucking waiting for Frank fucking Ocean to come out with his album. It's taking so fucking long. That sounds so stupid, coming from me, doesn't it?"

Frank-Ocean-typewriter.jpgCome the fack through, boo.

While it's unclear whether or not Damon was one of the 209 million views currently on the video for Adele's lead single off 25, "Hello"--which not only broken the most Vevo views in 24 hours, but is also fastest music video to surpass 100 million views (in less than 5 days)--but statistically speaking, there's probably a good chance.
 
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Sia Kicks Down the Cage Doors In New Song "Bird Set Free"

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maxresdefault-1.jpgAustralian songstress Sia continues her streak of gut-wrenching ballads with a new single, "Bird Set Free," from her upcoming LP This Is Acting, due out in January 2016.

Similar to her last new offering, "Alive" (which was co-written by queen Adele herself), the blonde-bobbed siren belts out her wish to live an authentic life, over arena-sized percussion-- undoubtedly perfect for swaying along with your eyes closed.

Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 4.41.25 PM.pngThe single art, like "Alive", features a cute fella donning a variant of the "Chandelier" wing made famous by its video's dancin' star, Maddie Ziegler.

maddie1.jpg"I don't care if I sing off key," the singer informs us. "I found myself and my melodies."

Sia goes on to confirm what we already knew: she's not in the game for anything else but the g-damn truth.

"I sing for love, I sing for me! I shout it out like a bird set free."

tumblr_n8vs08RZrQ1thrb0yo1_400.gifPeep the new track below, and try not to knee-slide across your office floor with your headphones on.








Watch Britney Spears Harness the Power of Earth's Rotational Pull While Dancing to "Toxic" On Jane the Virgin

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Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 5.19.47 PM.pngBritney Spears confirmed her guest-star on the hit CW show, Jane the Virgin, back in August, but now, we finally have our glimpse of the sugary icon in all her splendor in a new teaser for the November 9th episode.

Spears will be playing an "evil" version of herself, who's also the arch-nemesis of the show's resident narcissist/telenovela celebrity, Rogelio (Jaime Camil).

britney-spears-jane-the-virgin-1.jpgWhile the TV spot is criminally brief, it packs enough yasssss to get us through till next week.

Jane (Gina Rodriguez) is struck with bliss after Britney asks her to join in on some on-the-spot choreography from her classic track "Toxic."

Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 5.17.05 PM.pngIf you're not gasping for air after those two quick hand-to-hip arm pumps, you're not human.

tumblr_ls7qva6pTt1r3ty02o1_500.gifWatch the promo below, and may the resurrection of Britney Jean Spears carry us through the eternal twilight of winter ahead.




Paige Powell's Rare Photos Of Madonna, Basquiat and Warhol Go On Display in Portland

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Paige-Powell-The-Ride-still-1024x689.jpgStill from "The Ride," 2015, 3-channel color digital projection; 18:42 min.

The Portland Art Museum (1219 SW Park Avenue, Portland, OR) opens "Paige Powell: The Ride" tonight, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., featuring a special performance on the night by Pink Martini in the museum's Kridel Grand Ballroom. Noted Warholite, videographer and former associate publisher at Interview magazine, Powell moved from Oregon to NYC and documented the downtown 80s milieu before returning to Portland in 1997. 

This show includes her videos and also works by contemporary artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, whom Powell dated and photographed, Warhol and a new version of Kenny Scharf's "Cosmic Cavern."  On view until February 21, 2016.

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 8.39.12 AM.pngMadonna dances at short-lived New York club, "Fresh 14." Photo by Paige Powell.

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 8.42.08 AM.pngAndy Warhol and Keith Haring at the Pop Shop. Photo by Paige Powell.

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 8.44.55 AM.pngAndy Warhol and Fiorucci shop boys Joey Arias and Tim and at Texarkana. Photo by Paige Powell.


Paige-Powell-Beulah-Land.jpgBeulah Land (162 Avenue A) opening, January 15, 1984. Photo by Paige Powell.

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 8.51.21 AM.pngThe late, great Anita Sarko at the Beulah Land opening. Photo by Paige Powell.

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Andy Warhol and Grace Jones at Nippon restaurant. Photo by Paige Powell.


Taylor Swift Was Sued For Plaigarism

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22fe4638-d675-47f8-9726-5f43e27bb084.jpgTaylor Swift, singer and Machiavelliancapitalist , faces a $42 million lawsuit from a small-time R&B singer, who claims the mind-numbingly catchy "Shake It Off" was ripped from one of his original tunes.

Jesse Braham (whose stage name is Jesse Graham) penned the track "Haters Gonna Hate," which features the chorus, "Haters gonna hate, players gonna play. Watch out for them fakers, they'll fake you every day."

maxresdefault-2.jpgJesse Braham

Incidentally, Swift's hook (which was branded into your psyche with a steaming iron) contains similar words, "Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, and the players gonna play, play, play, play..."

tumblr_negrpsRwhx1u2jdpco1_1280.gifAside from that questionable coincidence, the songs bear no other similarities.

Braham is demanding not only financial compensation, but he wants his name listed as a writer for the song; he's adamant that Ms. Swift couldn't have possibly dreamed up such complex lyrics on her own.

While the Swift machine has yet to comment, we're not sure it's necessary.

The 50-year-old musician ALSO sued CNN, claiming the network stole the name for their show "New Day" from his self-run organization New Day Worldwide.

taylor-swift-gif.gifWhile we're sure this suit will be resting comfortably in the afterlife very shortly, we're actually v. into one of Jesse's sultry ballads, "Mr. Mailman," featured below.



#SexyLadies
 


Shia LaBeouf Talks About Ramen Egg-Salad, All The Times He's Been Arrested

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Prison Ramen is a new book written by ex-con Gustavo "Goose" Alvarez and his childhood buddy Clifton Collins Jr. that collects essays from the likes of Shawshank Redemption's Clancy Brown and Danny Motherfucking Trejo. However, the bit we were (obviously) the most stoked on was Shia LaBeouf's, who talks about his own incarcerations as well as his own instant ramen hack recipe.

In his essay, LaBeouf shares that he's been "incarcerated" five times, the first time was for 6 hours as a 9 year-old trying to steal a pair of Nike Cortezes. The second was just 2 years later when he tried to steal a Gameboy Pokémon.

He then nonchalantly mentions that when he was 20, he was held for 2 days for trying to stab his neighbor, in which he finally "understood that being in jail is not the move," because, duh. The fourth time was when, for some unknown reason, he wouldn't leave a Chicago Walgreens, which led to him spending a night in jail -- where he also happened to have "the best sleep ever."

However, LaBeouf's most recent arrest was just last year in New York, when he went to a Broadway performance of Cabaret drunk, and subsequently became disorderly...an incident that he euphemistically explains as, "I didn't behave very well during the performance and ended up spending twenty-five hours or so behind bars." Granted, dude also says that's where he had a "terrific" egg sandwich...there very one that inspired his own recipe for a ramen-egg salad sandwich -- though LaBeouf would, obviously, add American cheese on top this time...

Check out LaBeouf's recipe below and file it away...you know, just in case you need some commissary-style culinary inspiration.

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 Bon Appétit?

[h/t First We Feast

How the Pepsi Art Dome at Voodoo Fest Announced the Future of Art

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L1040762 (2).JPGThe Pepsi Art Dome

Inside a silver dome near the Flambeaux stage in New Orleans's City Park,  Halloween's Voodoo Fest attendees dressed as astronauts and flappers watched images of skulls and Andy Warhol float across a 40 foot screen. Original music, scored by a team of designers, helped the 18-minute piece transition from Warhol into a later animation of a graffiti artist and splashes dripped down the dome.

The Pepsi Art Dome at Voodoo Fest was produced by the digital media company Likuid Art and PepsiCo Creator -- a marketing innovation team that connects creators on the cutting-edge of art, technology, music, gaming, and the culinary world to help amplify their platforms. The collaborative installation, which features animated work by eight visual artists, takes the viewer through a trippy art galaxy -- each artists essentially gets their own planet.

"It felt like I was going to different planets," said Diana Sanchez, 21. "It was intergalactic traveling."

The idea for this massive project, which brought together artists and animators from Russia, Thailand, New Orleans and beyond, all started from one ten-second GIF. About eight years ago Likuid Art's CEO David Booth Gardner saw his friend's animated cityscape. He then watched the DVD, he says, on repeat all night.

"In that moment I saw what could be the future of art," he said. "I knew that artists were going to start creating by using digital tools."

As a producer of documentaries, Booth Gardner did not have many connections in the art world, but over the next few years he started meeting artists, which included Karen Bystedt whose negatives of Andy Warhol from the 1980s were animated as "Warhol Cubed" for the installation. The other artists showcased in the installation are Jon Moody, Kelly Graval "RISK", Greg "Craola" Simkins, Chris Saunders, Android Jones, devNgosha and Andrea Fellars.

As Booth Gardner began to connect with more artists and audiovisual engineers -- Dynamite Laser Beam created the piece's original music -- the project became more realized. PepsiCo Creator, Booth Gardner says, allowed the project to take some more risks.

For this installation, the selected artists submitted a piece of art -- such as Craola's painting "Where Am I" -- then, in most cases, were pretty hands off as the team of animators and composers did their thing.  

"We kind of just bounced ideas back and forth, and I got comfortable," said Craola. "I got more hands off knowing that the people that were selected were super talented and knew what they were doing."

L1050230 (3).JPGFestival goers inside the Pepsi Art Dome

The internet has changed how art is viewed. We often encounter art solely via a computer screen, alone, listening to SoundCloud remixes. While some festival goers may have randomly stumbled into the installation, the immersive dome created a heightened sensory experience that was also communal (people chilled in bean bag chairs). The work turned the digital realm into the temporal -- this piece is specific for Voodoo Fest.  

As the sun set on the festival day, the installation's line stretched toward the festival's blinking carnival rides. The dome had lit up into an otherworldly beacon (think: disco alien spaceship). People walked out of the dome -- what some dubbed "the temple of pop" -- having just witnessed what many consider the future of art.  

"I loved it," said Anna Bercegeay, 20. "The visuals were beautiful, and the screen felt like it was coming at me."

Did you stop by the Pepsi Art Dome? Share your photos and tag @Likuidart and @Pepsi!


7 Films to See This Month

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From Todd Haynes' buzzy new film about a lesbian romance in the 1950s to a spine-tingling thriller out of Ireland, here are the seven movies you shouldn't miss this month.

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 11.35.54 AM.pngCarol

Another milestone in the brilliant career of director Todd Haynes. Rooney Mara plays an aspiring photographer in 1950s New York who, while working in a department store, meets a beautiful, wealthy, mysterious older woman Carol (Cate Blanchett) buying a Christmas present for her daughter. They enter into a flirtatious friendship, while Carol battles her ex-husband (Kyle Chandler) who is threatening to use a "morality clause" to retain full custody of their daughter. The (always) wonderful Sarah Paulson plays Carol's dearest friend who once had a dalliance with her. This spellbinding masterpiece is one of lush romanticism without one drop of cheap melodrama or false sentimentality. That's in part to the whip-smart screenplay by Phyllis Nagy (based on a Patricia Highsmith novel), the gorgeous score by Carter Burwell, sumptuous and evocative costumes by Sandy Powell and dreamy cinematography by Ed Lachman. The sublime Cate Blanchett shows the fragility and passion behind the composed classy exterior and Rooney Mara is a revelation, not to mention having the screen beauty of a young Audrey Hepburn.

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 11.36.43 AM.pngSpotlight
A riveting, sensationally good dramatization by director Tom McCarthy about the intrepid reporters for the Boston Globe who ripped the lid off the Catholic Church's systematic relocating of pedophile priests. Liev Schreiber plays the new editor of the newspaper who assigns the famed "Spotlight" team to find out if senior officials in the Church knew about certain bad priests and had lawyers pay off families and had court documents sealed under confidentiality agreements.  The superb cast -- Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, among them -- taut direction, and emotionally devastating drama make this film the best of its kind since All The President's Men. Just terrific.

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 12.02.31 PM.pngThe Danish Girl
Eddie Redmayne is pretty phenomenal as artist Einer Wegener living with his beloved aspiring painter wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander) in 1926 Copenhagen. As a lark Gerda dresses up her husband in drag and they go to a dance but it awakens deep feelings in Einer that he has suppressed all these years and out emerges "Lili." As confusing and complicated as this makes their relationship, Gerda's paintings of "Lily" really take off and they leave for Paris to continue Einer's path of discovery and transformation -- finally to participate in one of the earliest sex change operations. Director Tom Hooper's (The King's Speech) sensitive direction, combined with Redmayne's amazing physicality -- the way he tilts his head or moves his hands as "Lili," is quite exceptional. And the amazing Alicia Vikander is just perfection.

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 12.03.11 PM.pngBrooklyn
A poignant drama nicely directed by John Crowley (Boy A) about an Irish immigrant's arrival in New York in the 1950s. Saoirse Ronan plays Eilis Lacey, a young woman who gets sponsored by a priest (Jim Broadbent) to come to Brooklyn, leaving her mother and beloved sister behind in Ireland. She has a job in a department store, lives in a girl's rooming house run by the tart-tongued Mrs. Kehoe (an exuberantly funny Julie Walters) but is overcome with homesickness. Talking evening classes for book keeping and going to local dances she meets a handsome Italian boy named Tony (terrific Emory Cohen) and regains her self confidence, but a death in the family forces her to decide where her home really is. Domhnall Gleason nicely plays a handsome "catch" for her back in her village and Saoirse Ronan is quite lovely on screen -- her face retains a prim, shy, quietness, while her eyes empathetically register the depth of emotion she is going through.
 
Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 12.03.42 PM.pngJanis: Little Girl Blue
A soul-stirring documentary by Amy Berg about the late, great, rock goddess, Janis Joplin. From a bullied childhood in Port Arthur, Texas, Janis Joplin journeyed to San Francisco at the height of the hippie invasion. She knew she had a big voice and sang blues in coffee houses but was hooked up with a rock band -- Big Brother & The Holding Company -- and infused her love for R&B singers like Etta James and Erma Franklin into their repertoire creating this howling, soulful, female Otis Redding persona. A treasure trove of archival footage is used -- from D. A. Pennebaker's coverage of the Monterey Rock Festival where her performance blew away people like Mama Cass to an electrifying recording session of Summertime. God knows she had her demons, but seeing Joplin in concert was to have your mind blown by her power and soulfulness, and this movie does her heartbreaking legacy proud.
 
Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 12.04.07 PM.pngThe Hallow
A supremely scary Irish supernatural chiller superbly directed by Corin Hardy that mixes folklore and frights with equal dexterity. Joseph Mawle plays Adam who arrives to survey a dense woodland in Ireland with his wife Claire (Bojana Novakovic) and their baby. He is examining the trees in the forest and is warned repeatedly by neighbors not to disturb the restless spirits there. His first inkling that things are not right is when he discovers a desiccated deer carcass covered in black goo. And then frightful creatures appear and lay siege to their house.
 

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 12.04.32 PM.pngJames White
A shattering portrait of a loving son but troubled soul --- James White (Christopher Abbott) -- taking care of his dying mother (superb Cynthia Nixon) in Manhattan. James, still slightly reeling from the death of his estranged dad, takes off to Mexico to get his shit together. But his mother calls him, needing him to return home because her cancer has spread. Director Josh Mond's film feels brutally personal -- the camera is always jammed right in the lead's face throughout. This really pays off emotionally in scenes when James really gets drunk and out of control, calmed down by his best friend (an excellent Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi). You feel like you are inside his tormented skull. It's a tough film to watch, but there are moments of beautifully observed insights and heartrending poignancy. The electrifying performance of Christopher Abbott is so raw, furious, and thrillingly off the charts you feel grateful to have experienced it. 

Our 5 Favorite Pics from Voodoo Fest

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The Voodoo Music + Arts Experience hit us with more art and EDM than we could handle. (Florence + The Machine gave us life for days. And Ozzy on Halloween was perfect.) Over our weekend, we noticed a few things about life and love and more importantly: about style. Being fashionable at this creepy New Orleans fest doesn't mean flower crowns or fringe. It's all about the costume in our country's most haunted city. While Mother Nature wasn't exactly our friend -- it rained for most of the weekend -- we did get a chance to snap some of the festival's most stylish ghouls.

James Franco's "Concept Band" Is Doing An Entire Album About The Smiths

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Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 11.24.19 AM.pngCreative shape-shifter James Franco has just signed a worldwide deal with the Kobalt Music Group for an album based entirely on his poetry about The Smiths (I know, I know) with his shoegazey concept band Daddy (with musician Tim O'Keefe.)

franco-anger.jpgAside from the album, Franco will also be directing a film made up of music videos from each song on the album; both the LP and movie will be (boringly) called Let Me Get What I Want (you know, based on that one song??? That song!!!!! Yeah!!!!).

The Smith-inspired poems are from Franco's book, Directing Herbert White, which saw the actor reflecting the titular serial killer character of Frank Bidart's poem "Herbert White," his struggles with celebrity, and general straight white male anxiety about mortality.

The musical duo has also convinced Andy Rourke, the bassist of The *actual* Smiths, to make some kind of appearance on the record; Et tu, Andy?

The band (aka Franco feverishly typing from a blanket fort in his hotel room with a flashlight in his mouth) released this statement about the deal:

"Kobalt has the right forward-thinking approach to work with a project as unique as ours, where we see our work not only existing within the music realm, but extending into the film, art space and beyond on an independent basis."

"As unique as ours,"
I screamed, dropping a milk glass into a blender.

james-franco-james-franco-19758594-488-275.gifHere's a video for Daddy's song "This Charming Man," which they premiered on Vice last year.









The Cops Raided Lil Wayne's Crazy Valuable Art Collection Because He Won't Pay For A Private Plane

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Lil Wayne has been having a... rough year. The Carter 5 is still nowhere to be found, Sorry 4 the Wait 2 basically vanished in a vacuum of "eh" (let's not even talk about Free Weezy), and he's the subject of a ton of lawsuits. One of which, Complex notes, involves Tunechi failing to pay over $1 million for leasing a private plan, which is basically the most Lil Wayne thing we can think of. That has apparently led to a raid on his property in Miami, including seizure of assets that were initially unnamed, but now appears to include pieces from his apparently $30 million art collection. WHAT? Do you think Weezy just spends his days staring at original Rembrandts or something? Damn.

As of yet, the police haven't named specific assets claimed in the raid, so there's a lot of room for... speculation! What else do you guys think got taken from Weezy? A tiger? Gold skateboards? Lasagna? There are a couple of bright spots for Wayne -- he's apparently currently in Los Angeles, so he didn't have to personally deal with the raid (thought it will probably be pretty annoying when he gets back). And at least he wasn't murdered by Birdman.

Hyperdub Boss And Dubstep Don Kode9 Talks About The Haunting "Nothing"

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photo by Philip Skoczkowski

To most, Kode9 is the definitive don of UK underground dance music. As the founder of seminal dubstep label Hyperdub, which has put out everyone from Burial to The Bug, he's had the kind of impact on forward-thinking dance that very few have. 2014, however, was a tough year for Kode following the deaths of both friend and footwork legend DJ Rashad, as well as his longtime collaborator The Spaceape. It was a rocky patch that led him to spend the beginnings of 2015 locked away in a studio working on what would becoming the haunting Nothing. 

A challenging listen to say the least, it's a record that's surprisingly emotive in its sparseness, one fueled by a painfully-deliberate dive deep into the depths of uncomfortable loss and reckoning. The future has never looked bleaker and, honestly, better off, than it does in Nothing. As such, we spoke to Kode ahead of the album's release this Friday about everything from the mathematics of zero to Tupac to Mortal Kombat -- and learned more about what went into what is, in our honest opinion, one of the best electronic albums of the year.

What struck me first about Nothing was the nihilism of everything.

True. Death was the basis of it all, because by the end of last year I was so fucking pissed off about everything. I'd been making tracks all last year towards an album, but I scrapped everything on New Year's Eve and then started everything from scratch -- New Year's Eve 2014. 

But then I realized I made [these new] tracks without a concept or anything to finish the album. It kind of winds me up when artists get so stuck in a concept and say their album is about that, almost like it's been arbitrarily dumped on top of the music without any relation to it, but I always need a concept to finish an album. 

I was asking myself, "What's this album about?" And I really didn't want to answer that question...and, even though that's like an empty concept, it really helped me finish it. It was like a key that unlocked the whole of the album. That enabled me to finish. 

So the album started out of a literal "nothing"?

Yeah, it was an anti-concept -- but, in the middle of the album, I also started reading about the "nothing" as a concept. I started reading about it in philosophy and mathematics, in quantum physics, and it's really interesting. 

Zero is almost like a virus that the West doesn't want to let in, so as a number it didn't always exist. It was created in Babylonia and India, and Europe was totally hostile to the concept coming in because it completely undermined the Western way of thinking [based on concepts like] monotheism, Judeo-Christianity -- so there's something almost demonic about the number zero, and that's why zero didn't exist until the last 400, 500 years. But it came at the same time as capitalism, which sort of secularized the West and led to all of these innovations that led to modern science. So, it literally came from nothing and through the research for the album, I came to find that the concept of zero was actually quite complicated. 

It's so hard to believe this if your first solo album. 

Yeah, cause I'm so fucking old. This is a bit of a reset album for me. I'm going back to where I started with music -- making instrumental music. I wanted to make more of this album in the box. Digitally, with no synths. Just samples, so that probably affected it. 

I initially thought you meant "in the bando" -- like how Migos lock themselves up "in the bando" to make music.

That resonates with me a lot. That's another "zero" reason. Most of this album happened in January. Never have I made an album so fast in my life. This was just like putting myself in solitary confinement from New Year's Eve last year, and not really coming out of the box until the beginning of February. I was shocked by that, I was like "The fuck happened there?" It was a lot of stuff from the last year that I couldn't put into words that all came out in sound. 

There's a ton of influence from super in-your-face subgenres like footwork and Japanese horrorcore, yet Nothing is remarkable in the amount of space it has. How did you build these tracks? Would you say there was a process of subtraction or addition? 

The songs came out of these tiny, little loops I was building -- chopping things up and building. I think there's a few tracks like "Motel" and "Void," that are all built around very repetitive, minimal aspects...you know, the 8-bar switches of grime, but the minimalist thing that footwork has, which are just things that loop forever and ever, to the point of irritation. I was building these threads of like repetitive stuff with like no beats, very hypnotic, put my in a trance kind of stuff...I was like, in solitary confinement, sensory deprivation. 



Let's talk for a bit about [visual collaborator] Lawrence [Lek], can you explain to me exactly what the show is?

I'm going to be playing live, and there's going to be a large screen where Lawrence will be building a virtual environment, like a computer game type of environment, of a building that's called the "Notel," which is a fully-automated luxury hotel that's been evacuated. So there's no humans there. 

But all the machines are intelligent. Like when you order room service, it's delivered by drones, and things like that. But again there is no human service there, so the question is...what happens to these machines after their masters have left? Because the relationship between humans and machines has always been a sort of master and slave -- where machines are enslaved to human will, what humans desire. So, we're not quite sure what's going to be in it. As I'm playing live, Lawrence is going to be navigating through the hotel. Maybe a different space, a different room, a different floor for every track [that's played].

But there are "human" holograms, right? 

Yeah, I expect there to be holograms of Spaceape and Rashad. There's some kind of digital memory of humans present in the hotel, but as Lawrence described it, it's gonna be like a wildlife documentary of the machines in the hotel. Instead of focusing on like, tigers in the jungle, it's going to focus on what these intelligent machines do in the hotel after they're no longer enslaved to humans. 

So you might have, for example, an automated Japanese toilet that suddenly starts coupling with a jukebox and a respirator -- so you've got these three machines that were made for something completely separate, interacting with each other, and we don't know what comes out of that.

The future of The Discovery Channel, huh? 

Yeah, it's truly like watching the machines attain autonomy...Machines attaining freedom, whatever that means. 

Right, that's all very cyberpunk. 

Cyberpunk was dealing with all these issues before anyone else was. In terms of literature, and architecture, and art, and music, [it handled] themes having to do with intelligent machines and not seeing the world purely from the point of view of humans. And the idea that the human is a blip on the long time scale of history. The idea that we won't necessarily be around forever. 

There's another thread, which obviously comes from like Tupac holograms and [this idea of the] digital immortality of the musician. The weird thing about Rashad and Spaceape dying is that musicians make it easy for you to deal with their death because they leave you with all of their music, so they really do live on in your memory -- and the whole holographic rockstar thing is super interesting in that regard, because not only do musicians live on through their music and their recorded voice, but they can also have this digital immortality through digital holograms. Which is this really fucked up and trippy situation, but it's something that I think is going to become more and more important [to the industry].


I've personally always had a little bit of a problem with cyberpunk in terms of the way it tends to fetishize Asia, like a lot of works treat it as nothing more than a backdrop. Do any of these issues bother you as well? 

There's certainly a lot of cliches, particularly about Japan in the future -- but my counter to that is Yellow Magic Orchestra in the 80s and the way they were sort of doing [the same thing with Western culture]. They were making those moves in the opposite direction, by fusing Kraftwork with traditional Japanese folk music. And like [having] one of their tracks named "Plastic Bamboo" just sums up this synthetic folk. Old and new together. So there's this trend of Orientalism in western literature and music and so on, but there's the reverse thing coming from Asian artists. Occidentalizing, which I think is kind of more interesting in a way. 

And so when we did [Future Brown member] Fatima al Qadiri's record a few years ago [Asiatisch], that was the first record I had heard in a while that tried to conceptualize this idea of cultures hijacking other people's cultures. The problem with Orientalism is that the theory is a very one-way theory. It's one-way in the sense that it is only the West appropriating the East, but things are never that simple. It's always like a two-way interchange going on. Obviously there's a power relation, but the album draws attention to that stuff. 

Speaking of which, you flirted with sinogrime [a strand of grime music with Asiatic influences] a few years ago with a pretty well-regarded mini-mix.

It's just really complicated. You've got a bunch of black kids in East London, who aren't really thinking too much about it, [as it's] probably mediated through Wu Tang Clan, computer games, martial arts films, Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. Like they're finding all of these Chinese musical motifs coming into their music, but never sampling from the original. Their source was already an appropriation, so it's an appropriation of an appropriation of an appropriation, so where the origin is and what the copy is just becomes more complicated than a simple story about Orientalism and appropriation. 

In a postcolonial sense though, there is a lot of forced Western influence on Asian artists though...like as you said, there's a pretty blatant power dynamic at play, which is why a lot of Occidentalism happens.

I mean it's super interesting, but it's an ongoing thing because the power shift towards Asia is going to make this a more and more important issue. These little, tiny debates probably seem irrelevant to most people, about grime producers and sampling, copying, Asian music; Asian musicians copying western music; but I think it's quite prophetic of much broader debates that are going to be much more important throughout the next hundred years.

The Eight Sexiest Male Politicians (Including Justin Trudeau)

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The realm of politics is not averse to great looks because visuals and presentation are a big part of the campaigning game, after all. And with the recently elected Prime Minister of Canada shaping up as their most edible export (no offense to Drake or Bieber), it takes the political arena to a new level of hotness. So in honor of his cheekbones, here are my eight favorite politico hotties of all time. But I'm leaving out the Kennedys. Too obvious -- and too many to choose from, anyway.

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JUSTIN TRUDEAU
As mentioned, the new Canadian PM is a stud straight out of an International Male catalogue. The chiseled features, the windswept hair...he's enough to bring sexy back to Canada, like, immediately. And he's liberal and marched in a Pride parade! Woof!


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GAVIN NEWSOM
The hills of San Francisco looked even lovelier when the stunning Newsom was mayor starting in 2003. (He's currently the Lieutenant Governor of California.) Gavin is such a looker, with luscious hair, a dazzling smile, and eyes that light up a room like an exposed fluorescent bulb. If he feels like it, he could always step down and become the lieutenant governor of my heart. Hello?

John Lindsay.jpgJOHN LINDSAY
Elected Mayor of New York City in 1965, Lindsay was an impossibly good looking, lean, dirty blonde beauty who easily could have been a supermodel if he hadn't chosen a slightly less superficial profession instead. Later on, he was a natural as a guest host on Good Morning America because his looks were incredibly telegenic. But he made his biggest mark as mayor, helping NYC become glam again.

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BILL CLINTON
People didn't drop to their knees in front of this guy because he didn't radiate sex appeal. Bill happens to exude streams and streams of sexual energy, and his apparent willingness to do stuff, combined with his potent genes, make him a far hotter President than, say, Benjamin Harrison.

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BARACK OBAMA
It's the most trivial of his many great traits, but let's face it, the man is good looking. Yes, he's visibly aged in office -- more rapidly than normal people, and understandably so -- but that's served him well, because now he looks handsome in a lived in and worldly wise sort of way. Simply irresistible.


Scott Brown.jpgSCOTT BROWN
The former Massachusetts Senator has sexy grey hair and a really great face that I would like to know better. He's a real dreamboat who puts the koo-koo-ka-choo back in Massachusetts.


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AARON SCHOCK
The former United States Representative for Illinois, the shocking Schock made the scene in such a splashy way that the New York Times said he "cultivated an image that is more about lifestyle and less about lawmaking." Works for me! And Schock looked hot down to his eye-popping abs, which he gamely showed off on a 2011 Men's Health cover. True, he resigned this year after a controversy, and yes, he was a Republican with some very icky views, but all of that can be used for role playing, no?


Eliot_Spitzer.jpgELIOT SPITZER
The New York State Governor who got busted for patronizing whores in 2008 is so sexy I'd pay HIM. Slightly balding, with a jaunty tousle of hair in the middle, and blessed with striking features and piercing eyes, he always seemed like the Mr. Right many a gal and gay guy would swoon over for some daffy dalliances. (And you'd even get paid!)


Santigold Gives Us The Infectious, Jaunty "Can't Get Enough Of Myself"

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Santigold is back, baby -- and this time it's with an upbeat jaunt of a single from her forthcoming album 99¢. Appropriately dubbed "Can't Get Enough of Myself," it's an infectious, sun-infused playground of flute lines, dub-inflected percussion and whirl-a-round synths. Definitely a danceable number.

Listen to the track's premiere on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show earlier today. 


[h/t Pitchfork

Just So You Know, Fanfiction About Nick Jonas' Diabetes Exists

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The Jonas Brothers were pretty much the first case of Internet fandom, having come into prominence during the initial boom of early social media in the late aughts, and despite having long-disbanded  ravenous admiration for the trio remains discarded throughout the web in the form of fanfiction -- from Camp Rock nostalgia, to pregnancy.

They're abandoned cars, resting quietly on the side of the Internet highway.

But some are able to move past fandom, and sink into the deepest trench of...something.

Such is this case of fan-fiction about Nick Jonas' diabetes.

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Yes, this is real.

Nick Jonas was diagnosed with diabetes in 2005, at the age of 13, and as his celebrity grew, he became vocal about his struggles with the condition -- specifically life-threatening circumstances -- and has used his platform to spread awareness.

Upon Googling info about Nick's illness, however, it's not that hard to come across a
a small but sizable pocket of JoBro fans who decided to weave Nick's ailment into some jaw-droppingly specific and unsettling vignettes that run the mill from garden variety chaste Florence Nightengale fantasies, to some POV Munchausen-y delirium.

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 2.13.50 PM.pngOne scenario depicting Nick's initial diagnosis (Chapter 3. "Diagnosis), from a fanfic collection entitled Living the Dream, is the most intensely detailed (and impeccably structured) of this specific topic.

It begins with the subject line: "The Jonas Brothers are in the prime with their best-selling tour yet. But Nick is experiencing some weird issues on the way. What's wrong with him? Can a girl help him get through it and face his biggest challenge yet to get through and live the dream?"

Stay with me.

The chapter begins some sort of medical personnel named "Mrs. Juan," informing Nick of his condition.

"Nicholas Jonas, I'm very sorry but you have Type 1 Diabetes," Mrs. Juan said to me. I couldn't believe it. Diabetes? I didn't even KNOW what that was. So all I could ask her is "Am I going to die?"

Some of the content reads as if the fan has either had first hand experience with this ailment themselves, or was attempting to sound like they do, literally translating WebMD into the story with mentions of multiple IVs. Enter: Kevin and Joe with a teddy bear and a "basket of balloons."

Joe says, "Here you go, little brother," to Nick. (ugh)

Where are the parents, though?

"Where's Mom and Dad and Frankie?" Kevin said, "They're at Grandma Jonas', so they could learn a little more about...you know...and get some comfort."

After starting to cry, Nick is comforted by his brothers.

"Kevin sat at the side of my bed while Joe grabbed the other chair and sat on the other said. Kevin grabbed my non-IV hand and looked at me, saying, "Look Nick, I know it's really hard for you right now, but it WILL get better. This will NOT stop us, you hear? As long as you can manage, of course."

Non-IV hand: check.

Things take a terrifying, Mullholland Drive turn in the next chapter, describing a dream Nick has.

"There were two monsters after me; one was a scary looking man that had a t-shirt that said "Diabetes," and the other was Death itself, clothed in a black cloak and everything.
"Come with me, Nick, and you'll live a painful life," the diabetic man said evilly.
"No, come with me Nicholas, and leave this cruel world. It would end all the pain," Death said to me coyly.


A coy reaper; nothing worse.

The story continues on (and on, and on), bringing in newfound love interest and fellow diabetic named "Liz" for Nick who, who after comforting Nick, is invited on tour with the band.

The full point of the fan-fiction is realized when Liz (presumably the alter ego of the writer) exclaims, "Seriously you're inviting me, of all people, to come on tour with you guys?" I ask my best friends Nick, Kevin, and Joe.

My best friends.

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Here are some other dark fanfic subject lines involving Nick Jonas:

-Summary: Sacrafice. It's a mid-evil ceremony to gain power from the Gods. But when evil starts sacarficing for their own selfish reasons, the laws of nature can be change.
Its been 200 years since their last victom's blood was shed. Now they need a new victom. One whos is pure of heart and full of spirt. They search long and hard for the one they must sacrafice and find the perfect person....Nick Jonas


-Summary: Nick Jonas is going to a boy scout camp but what happens when a twister hits and he is left to help his friends. Nick is not famious one shot based on a true story

This makes even the most violently unhinged, bloody declarations of love from One Directioners and Beliebers look positively...sane, and that's saying a lot.

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Highlights from Logo's "Cocktails and Classics" Live Screening of Mommie Dearest in NYC

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(photo via www.out.com)


Donning wire hanger necklaces, black satin robes, cold cream masks and white headbands were only a few ways that Michael Musto and friends paid homage to Faye Dunaway's dramatically over the top depiction of Joan Crawford in the cult classic Mommie Dearest. The live screening of the film at Midtown's Eventi Hotel gave the small audience a live taste of what Logo's show "Cocktails and Classics" has in store for its second season. 

"We really try to engage the spirit of what it might be like for you at home if you had a bunch of friends over," explained the show's host Michael Urie. "We show movies that appeal to the Logo sensibility, movies with a strong female character, campy movies, movies that if you haven't seen you should see, and if you have seen you would enjoy watching with us." 

It is somewhat similar to Bravo's The People's Couch but instead Cocktails and Classics encourages viewers to have a party while watching the hosts and industry special guests have a party on television. Musto describes it as a "big meta party!" complete with juicy behind the scenes details, quizzes, games and scene reenactments. Urie practically begged Logo to obtain the rights to the original The Poseidon Adventure, which he grew up obsessed with as a child. 

"We reenacted the scene where the ship flips over. We had a lot of fun and were just really silly with it," Urie said. 

Other films the show lovingly jabs include All About Eve, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Witches of Eastwick.Steel Magnolias screenwriter Robert Harling and Academy Award winner Joel Grey from "Cabaret" are some of the industry insiders dishing on all of the production secrets every film enthusiast is dying to know. 

Right after cocktail hour, Musto and Urie were joined by D.J. Pierce aka Shangela Laquifa Wadley -- who is also a film party attendee on the show -- and Rutanya Alda, who played Carol Ann, for a quick chat about the film, explaining why it is a must see in the gay community.  

"The fashion, the lines, the acting, it's kabuki, it's camp and yet it makes you feel something. How could you not feel something for Christina?" explained Musto. "Faye Dunaway is brilliant, she was over the top. Newsflash! Joan Crawford was over the top." 

"You create a connection, too," Pierce added. "Like people who may not have seen the movie before or the younger generation of gays connect with people who have seen the movie and know so much about it and means so much to them, it's like 'Oh I've seen Mommie Dearest! You've seen Mommie Dearest! We're cool."

The light-hearted banter, similar to what audiences are sure to witness on the show, quickly turned into the ultimate tea spilling session when Musto and Rutanya dished on their theories and insight on the controversial mixed reviews on Dunaway's portrayal of Crawford and if it contributed to the stalling of her career. Rutanya alda addresses this topic in her Carol Ann tell all The Mommie Deareat Diaries a secret she has kept for 30 years without a thought that maybe this was something people were interested in.   

"I had no idea people wanted to know about what happened, and I never intended to publish a book. I wrote these journals while filming and during a hard time in my life, and the only thing that helped me feel better was writing." 

The episode of "Cocktails and Classics" viewing Mommie Dearest will air this Sunday. 

David LaChapelle Talks with the Inventor of the Digital Camera About the Death of Print Photography

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In 1975, Kodak engineer Steve Sasson created the first digital camera. He spent the next several decades trying to convince his bosses that this was a device that people would one day want. David LaChapelle, one of the most acclaimed photographers and music video directors working today, wasn't initially sold on digital cameras when he encountered them in the '80s, but eventually he became one of the first directors to shoot only in digital video, often with Phase One, his camera of choice. It took a while for Kodak to see the point of digital photography, but once it took off with the public, it took off hard, and the company wasn't quite prepared; it filed for bankruptcy in 2012. For our Nowstalgia issue, on stands now, PAPER arranged for Sasson, who was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2009, to talk with LaChapelle about the rise of the digital image, the death of print photography and accidentally creating the selfie. It's a fascinating conversation between two photography pioneers about the unintended consequences of new ideas. (This interview has been edited and condensed.)

Steve holding camera credit the Eastman Kodak Company.jpgPhotography courtesy of Eastman Kodak Company

David LaChapelle:
First, let me say hello. It's an honor to talk to you. I worked six years in black and white in laboratories in the dark ages of my life. And I remember how toxic the chemistry was. I once spent 21 hours in the darkroom and the next morning after getting some sleep, I woke up and I could taste the fixer in my lungs. With digital, it changed all that. There are people that miss getting their hands in the fixer and stuff; well, you might miss cancer, too. It's also great for the environment. I'll let you talk, I just want to get this off my chest. I have pictures in museums around the world: Chile, Rome. I print really large-scale, I have murals that are 30 feet. And next to an analog print will be a digital print and people can't tell the difference at all.

Steve Sasson:
Yeah, we've reached that point now where there's no ability to tell between a fine-grain film and a high-resolution image capture. People argue when we reached that point, but let's let the other people argue about that.

LaChapelle:
Your invention, and your brain, and your lifetime of work have done so much for the environment, for the carbon footprint. You should really be proud of that. You invented the pencil. I always get this question, "Oh, there's so many people taking photos now on their cameras -- how does that change photography?" And I say, "Well, it makes photography accessible to everyone. Like the pencil." Does that mean there's gonna be more great writers? I don't know. I don't think there are more great writers because pencils are available to everyone, but it's definitely made it accessible to everyone to capture things and take pictures. It has changed news, like with the police right now and how people are filming the police.

PAPER:
Now, Steve, you didn't really see any of this happening when you first developed this camera, right?

Sasson:
No, remember in '75 and '76 when I was demonstrating my prototype system, I called it filmless photography in the sense that I was clearly suggesting a way to do it without consumables at all. No film, no processing, no paper. But we hadn't really experienced the world that we have today. We didn't have the Internet or even personal computers at everybody's desks. So this homogenization of the digital information age hadn't occurred yet. I was really proposing to eliminate the cost of film and paper. And when I demonstrated the system in '76 to Kodak executives, I took their pictures in a conference room and I displayed them right there: no chemicals, no processing. It took about a minute to do the whole process. And that's what our conversation revolved around: Could this ever be practical? Prints were very successful for over 100 years. No one was complaining about the photographic process in general and prints specifically.

LaChapelle:
And now you hear the opposite. People complain that no one's printing anything.

Sasson:
Right, because now the whole world has changed and you have ubiquitous desktop printing.

LaChapelle:
And Instagram.[laughs]

Sasson:
Right, social networking and things like that. So I think when you do something like this, as much as you think you can see a bunch of new things happening, you really don't see the entire picture. Nobody does until it happens much later.

LaChapelle:
So you didn't have some grand revelation. Like you woke up from a dream going, "Oh my god, I'm going to change the way that -- everyone can be a porn star now." You didn't have that moment. [laughs] Did Kodak have any concern about losing revenue because of their other products, if this thing is successful?

Sasson:
 In '76, when I demonstrated my system, there were lots of questions about the technical viability of this stuff. "How would you handle color? How could you ever get hi-res? Would the economics of this ever be possible?" Those were the technical questions. And I think it took us about 13, 14 years to answer those questions. But in 1989, we built a camera that looks a lot like a DSLR today. They were megapixel color imagers, memory cards, and we used compression. But then we ran into the problem where Kodak didn't want to sell them because it cannibalized a very profitable business line.

LaChapelle:
You're like the Napster of photography.

Sasson:
[laughs]

LaChapelle:
They didn't want to believe it was coming, and it changed the whole music industry. And the same thing happened, really. It's not that far off of an analogy. People did not want to see downloads happening and they were in denial, and then it happened anyway.

Sasson:
I mean the question I was always asked was, "Show me the money. Show me the business model. Show me the revenue." And I always couldn't really answer that question because I didn't have it.

LaChapelle:
Well, it wasn't your job. You were the inventor; they should've found ways to do that. The music industry should've taken... I can't remember the guy's name who started Napster, but instead of fighting him, they should've brought him onboard and said, "How do we make this work for us? Because this is the future." But they didn't have that vision.

Sasson:
Yeah, it was hard to have those discussions. Remember, photographic film was probably the most profitable consumer product ever dreamed up. It had a tremendous revenue stream, tremendous profitability.

LaChapelle:
And exactly, think about what you've done for journalism. If it wasn't for the digital camera, along with the Internet, there wouldn't have been instant pictures as they happen.

Sasson:
Well, yeah.

LaChapelle:
A lot to have on your shoulders. [laughs] How does that make you feel, to be one of the people who ushered in the age of information? That's like ushering in the Iron Age or the Industrial Revolution or something. Do you go to bed at night thinking, "I ushered in the age of information"?

Sasson:
I don't really think about it too much. I've worked almost my whole life in digital photography. I wasn't allowed to talk about it, of course. I took my first pictures in 1975 on my camera and I worked continuously in digital imaging. But I wasn't allowed to talk about it until 2001, when it became clear that it was an advantage to be in the digital photography business and Kodak was a big player in that business. Then one day you wake up and you see, "Hey, things are really out there in the consumer world." I started seeing it in my real life world in the early 2000s or so.

LaChapelle:
But in '75, it was your dream. Did it occur to you that you could take pictures of your girlfriend and not have to take it to the lab?

Sasson:
[laughs] Well, I tell you...

LaChapelle:
C'mon, that thought had to cross your mind at some point. When did it cross your mind that you could take pictures of your girlfriend naked and not have to bring it to a lab and no one else would know?

Sasson:
Well, I tell you, the resolution wasn't as good as experiencing things themselves. I think what's changed is our view of what photography is. It's changed it from recording events to a casual form of conversation. In other words, I want to express a thought or a feeling --

LaChapelle:
It's been made casual.

Sasson:
Yeah, it made it extremely casual, extremely easy.

LaChapelle:
It used to be an experience, getting your picture taken. Now it's casual. That's a great adjective.

Sasson:
Yeah, I mean it is. From my point of view, I worked in this field for well over 30 years. Almost every day was taking a step, or solving a problem, or learning something new, seeing what other people are doing. I like to say that you don't have to invent everything when you're doing something. The whole world is inventing along with you so thank goodness for people developing the Internet and higher-speed computers.

LaChapelle:
So now you're shying away from inventing the selfie, which really you did.

Sasson:
I like to say that's a result of the long unintended consequences. It's something I must admit that in all the years I've worked on this, I never considered that a possibility. It's annoying -- I was in Hawaii, standing there, it was beautiful scenery and people would come out with like lightsabers, they'd whip out these giant sticks and stand there and take pictures. It was weird, you know?

PAPER:
Do you both believe that print and actual film photography is dead?

Sasson:
Is it dead? Well, I get a lot of reactions from photographers. They love film. Harvey Wang did a documentary about how the development of digital affected film photographers and what I learned from that was that there's a certain set of people who love the physicality of film. And what I mean by that is that they can hold it in their hand, they can develop it, they can look at it. It's a very visceral, human thing. And although these photographers freely admit that ... you can't run a business without it being digital to a large extent. They still miss or long for the physicality of film. As long as those people are around, and I don't know how long they will be, film will certainly offer a place to do that.

PAPER:
Now, Steve, how did Kodak adjust as a business once film was on its way out and digital took over, because obviously they were making most of their money off of film for a while.

Sasson:
Well, not well. They knew film was an endangered species for several years. I think 2001 was the best year for film -- the most film was made. But then it crashed, it really went down very quickly. No one could anticipate when that would happen and we used to talk a lot about that, and all of a sudden it just happened. Once that happened, all they could do was cut their expenses. In 2012, they declared bankruptcy. They tried to maintain their many other businesses and they still have a business now with printing. The profitability of film was just enormous and to have that go down at 18-20% a year is what I think the decline rate was.

LaChapelle:
It really mirrors the music industry.

Sasson:
In many ways, that's right, in terms of digital and communication and sharing. The only difference is that these images are personal and so people have an emotional attachment to these images, so being able to save them and having to recall them many years later is the only file that gets more valuable the older it gets. That's just a little bit of a difference. But I think there's a lot of parallels there.

SteveSasson_Camera_DI.jpgSasson digital camera, 1975. Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York. Photo courtesy of George Eastman House

Exploring Bias In Film Theory: Why Aren't More Female Directors and Filmmakers of Color Considered Auteurs?

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Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 4.22.45 PM.pngAgnes Varda

Hollywood moves in familiar patterns, with habits so regular that even the most disinterested moviegoer knows the drill. Summer is for blockbusters, fall is for Oscar-bait, and late winter is for the bombs, those sad monstrosities that the studios try to shuffle into oblivion with as little fanfare as possible. However, for viewers of a certain stripe, who prefer international titles and experimental features over superhero flicks, the year isn't measured in typical seasons. For these cinephiles and film fanatics, the stretch from the first sun-drenched Cannes dispatches to the last wind-chilled nights of Sundance is the true centerpiece of the year in film. While most viewers might be drawn to a new release by an appealing star or the familiarity of a franchise, the chatter around these film festivals is distinctly different.

"Did you see the new Todd Haynes?"
"I'm going to the Hou Hsiao-Hsien tomorrow."
"The new Gondry? Not his best."

This auteurist approach to understanding film is a defining aspect of highbrow festivals, and frequently dominates the conversation and criticism around so-called "Serious Cinema." However, despite the popularity of auteur theory as a lens through which viewers can read a film, it has also been criticized for the way that it has often erased women and people of color from the cinematic landscape.

Auteur theory emerged in France in the mid-twentieth century, based on the idea of the director as the author a film. It was developed by film theorist Andre Bazin and critic and filmmaker Alexandre Astruc before further blossoming in the pages of Cahiers du Cinéma in essays by a group of upstart film fanatics, including Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, who would go on to put their theories into practice as the mavericks of the French New Wave. While the word "auteur" often conjures images of self-consciously artistic cinema, the Cahiers critics frequently discussed the theory in the context of the dream factory of Golden Age Hollywood, reading the imprint of directors' distinct artistic personalities and fixations in seemingly-formulaic genre pictures, elevating figures like Alfred Hitchcock, with his recurrent motifs of frigid blondes, mistaken identities and necrophilia, from "vulgar showman" to serious artist. To them, Hollywood's Joseph L. Mankiewicz and serious-minded Danish ascetic Carl Theodor Dreyer could be seen as equally artistically valid.

Iconic critic Pauline Kael was an early critic of the theory as applied in English and American criticism, reserving particular vitriol for critic Andrew Sarris, who originally popularized the theory for American audiences in The Village Voice. In her essay "Circles and Squares", published in Film Quarterly in 1963, Kael says, "The auteur critics are so enthralled with their narcissistic male fantasies....that they seem unable to relinquish their schoolboy notions of human experience." She goes on to question, "Can we conclude that, in England and the United States, the auteur theory is an attempt by adult males to justify staying inside the small range of their boyhood and adolescence -- that period when masculinity looked so great and important but art was something talked about by poseurs and phonies and sensitive-feminine types?"

Gendered critique of the theory continues, with contemporary film writers like Melissa Silverstein, founder and editor of Women and Hollywood and artistic director of the Athena Film Festival, an annual film festival highlighting women's leadership that takes place at Barnard College, citing inherent biases: "In general, I have minimal interest in the whole discussion of auteurs because it leaves women out. Women are just beginning to create a body of work that lets them into the conversation. And there is a lack of respect for women's work whether it stars men or women because there is a lack of respect for women's visions."

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 4.16.22 PM.pngElaine May

Film history, like all history, is not a static thing, but is in a constant process of re-assessment and re-writing. While the popular conception of film history is still dominated by mammoth male figures -- Welles, Godard, Fellini, Bergman, et al. -- there have been encouraging signs in recent years of the narrative expanding to include more and more female filmmakers. In some cases, this has manifested itself in the rehabilitation of neglected careers, like that of Elaine May. The sharp director of The Heartbreak Kid and screenwriter of The Birdcage and Primary Colors first rose to prominence as half of a brilliant comedy due with Mike Nichols. While the latter went on to be enshrined in film history for works like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and The Graduate, May's directing career was cut prematurely short after the failure of her notorious Dustin Hoffman-Warren Beatty comedy Ishtar, for which she was unfairly and disproportionately blamed. However, within the past several years, May has been rehabilitated as a critical darling, with The New Yorker's Richard Brody lauding her as "one of the great geniuses of the American cinema" and Criterion's online release of her Peter Falk and John Cassavetes-starring Mikey and Nicky, which Brody has called"the great gangster movie of the nineteen-seventies" and "a welcome corrective to 'The Godfather'."

You could argue that cinema's delay in recognizing May as a great director is due, in part, to the fact that like other female directors such as Amy Heckerling or Nancy Meyers, she worked in commercial cinema, rather than the more self-consciously serious and highbrow modes of independent or art cinema. However, critic Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice -- who objects to auteur theory primarily on the grounds of being overly simplistic ("To me, the auteur theory is a way of trying to break film down into manageable chunks to understand it. And who wants film to be manageable?") -- has found that the commercial film stigma is often applied unequally. "Even if we're just talking about male [commercial] filmmakers who have come to prominence since the 1970s -- Scorsese, Tarantino, Spielberg, De Palma, Nolan, Fincher -- we feel very comfortable discussing their individual styles, or at least their specific approaches to filmmaking," she says. "But you don't hear a lot of people discussing the films of, say, Sofia Coppola or Kathryn Bigelow in the same way, even though each, by this point, has a very distinctive voice."

International female filmmakers have fared slightly better, facing fewer growing pains in their process of ascending to the top ranks of historically significant auteurs. Soviet master Larisa Shepitko, who left behind a small but stunning body of work before her premature death at age 40, in 1979, has gained attention since the Criterion rereleases of her films The Ascent (1966), and Wings (1977). Meanwhile Czech filmmaker Věra Chytilová's madcap Daisies has been rightly acknowledged as one of the most distinctive works of the Czech New Wave, cementing her place in film history. (Her early short "Ceiling" recently appeared on a double bill with Roman Polanski's "Two Men and a Dresser" in the Museum of Modern Art's "Home is Best" series.)

jeanne-dielman.jpgA still from Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Perhaps the most notable example of a lionized female filmmaker whose recognition, influence, and space within the narrative of film history only continues to grow, is the great, recently-passed Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman. Akerman's 1975 film Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, is regularly recognized as one of the most important works of cinematic history. The formally exacting, punishingly long work records in uncompromising detail the rote daily routine of a single mother over the course of three days, from domestic duties to the prostitution with which she supports herself and her son, and culminates in a shocking act of violence. Reverence for the film has only continued to grow in recent years (undoubtedly aided by the Criterion Collection's exquisite 2009 release), and critics have consciously worked to recognize her towering place in the story of cinema. In a recent Twitter exchange, Rolling Stone writer David Erlich noted that Akerman made Jeanne Dielman at the remarkably young age of 25, prompting film writer Kristen Sales to respond, "petition to replace this narrative with the 'orson welles was only 25 when he made citizen kane' narrative." Ever active, and unflaggingly artistically ambitious, Akerman's last film, the documentary No Home Movie, a document of the last days of Akerman's Holocaust survivor mother, earned rapturous responses and was one of the few female-helmed films presented at this year's New York Film Festival.

The outpouring of tributes after Akerman's tragically premature death (she was only 65 years old) on October 5th illustrated -- in their reverence, intensity, and sheer quantity -- just how enormous her presence is in the cinephile consciousness. As touching as the responses were, the reverential mourning was also a stark reminder of just how unusual Akerman's position is. Besides French New Wave favorite Agnès Varda, you'd be hard-pressed to think of another female filmmaker of Akerman's generation who would receive such universal recognition of greatness.

While it is clear that reading cinema history and the modern cinematic landscape through the lens of auteur theory has minimized the role of women, the most pressing question is: why?

Prominent indie film fixture Ry Russo-Young, director of films like Nobody Walks and You Won't Miss Me and a performer in The Color Wheel and Hannah Takes the Stairs, recognizes the collaborative process of making a film, but asserts, "I absolutely believe films reflect the perspective and vision of the director." However, she feels that romantic ideas about directors are distinctly gendered.

"Historically and often critically," she says, "the director's role has been fetishized into a stereotype: the lone, uncompromising man with a brilliant creative vision. As a woman growing up with this cliche, I have a voluntary distaste for it because it's the same white male genius thing -- it excludes everyone else and other perspectives. A quick Google search of 'filmmaker auteur' and I find seven terrific white male filmmakers, but not one woman or person of color. And even when we think about The French New Wave, Agnes Varda is often left out of that conversation, which is a shame because she's brilliant!"

Along with the gendered auteur archetype, another possible explanation for women's absence in this approach to cinema is the auteur theory's emphasis on a filmmaker's body of work. In order to recognize the idiosyncrasies of taste, style, and thematic preoccupations that make a director's work distinctly his or her own, it is helpful to have several films to reference, to see which elements occur again and again. Further, there is something particularly satisfying for the dedicated cinephile about crafting a neat narrative out of the arch of a filmmaker's career, as when we discuss Fellini's ever-deeper dive into his own id as he moved from realist dramas like La Strada to surreal, hyper-theatrical extravaganzas like Juliet of the Spirits. As filmmaker Josephine Decker, director of Butter on the Latch and Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (another female director who has found an enthusiastic advocate in Richard Brody), explains: many female filmmakers simply don't have bodies of work hefty enough to demand auteurist readings. "I think there are a lot of women who make one incredible film and then maybe just don't have the opportunity to make another," she says.

According to Decker, there are several reasons why female filmmakers might produce smaller bodies of work than their male colleagues: "I think the women who become famous directors get famous later in the game than men do, generally. I think Sofia Coppola and Lena Dunham are huge exceptions, and I think it made a really big difference that both of them had parents who were artists. Because being an artist as a woman is not necessarily nurtured." Beyond the lack of encouragement, Decker also identifies the difficulty of balancing family and the rigorous demands of filmmaking: "Being a woman in my early thirties who really wants to have kids, I keep thinking, 'Wow, I'm really glad I got these two movies done.' Because I'll maybe make one more, then have to take a few years off....I think it's very difficult for women to develop a body of work because of family pressures, and also family desires."

Whatever its shortcomings, however, auteur theory remains an appealing and popular way of imagining cinema, particularly that of the high art variety. While the popularity of the theory does not appear to be waning any time soon, it is possible that it is being applied in more imaginative ways, and that notions of who qualifies as an auteur are expanding to make room for more diverse figures.

BFA_1446671924_1718518.jpgAva DuVernay[Photo by John Salangsang/BFA.com]

More and more contemporary female filmmakers are garnering spots in the cinematic pantheon: French directors Catherine Breillat (Abuse of Weakness, Fat Girl) and Claire Denis (Bastards, Beau Travail) are staples of serious international festivals, while established auteur Jane Campion (Bright Star, The Piano) has found recent success on television with the stunning Top of the Lake. Despite the historically male-heavy programming of the New York Film Festival, the Film Society of Lincoln Center has done invaluable work in recent years for the visibility of serious female filmmakers with their filmmaker residency. Since its inception three years ago, two of the residents have been women: Fish Tank director Andrea Arnold in 2013, and this year's Athina Rachel Tsangari, whose film Chevalier is featured in the festival. (The 2014 resident, Argentinian director Lisandro Alonso, also offered a welcome departure from the frequent Euro-centrism of serious cinema culture.)

Alongside this promising progress, resistance and unequal opportunities remain, particularly for women of color. "The real tricky thing," says Russo-Young, "is that much of this [biased] thinking is completely unconscious and subliminal and exists in women and men, so it's not a simple fix." However, as the internet has opened up the critical landscape to more and more voices, many women are highlighting the work of female filmmakers and combatting male-centric views of film history. Silverstein's Women and Hollywood is an invaluable source for information about women in commercial cinema, while British film magazine Little White Lies' recent "100 Great Movies By Female Directors" series, compiled by female and male critics, provided a breathtaking alternative cinematic history.

One of the most outspoken advocates for reevaluating the inclusivity of the narrative of film history is Selma director Ava DuVernay, who was passed over for a Best Director Oscar nomination, even as the film she directed was nominated for Best Picture. Empire writer Eric Haywood said of DuVernay in a Tweet, "I think the idea of [Ava DuVernay] boldly & competently directing men is what upset the Academy more than anything." Russo-Young agrees, stating, "I doubt Auteur theory is to blame for sexism and racism within the industry, but, as a society, we still associate control with men. The notion that a woman has the power and even the confidence to have complete control over an artistic process as complex and multifaceted as filmmaking is still foreign to us." However, DuVernay is actively working to reshape ideas of what a director looks like, not only in her own work as a director, but also with her distribution company Array, which supports the work of women and artists of color. Similarly, Silverstein insists that it is not criticism and historical evaluation that will raise the profile and power of female filmmakers: "The way to correct the representation of women is for people to hire women. It's that simple."

The act of filmmaking is becoming more and more accessible with every passing day. Cameras are more widely available than ever and anyone with an Internet connection can share their vision of their own unique universe with untold numbers of viewers, from next-door neighbors to strangers an ocean away. Critics and historians certainly have a responsibility -- they play an essential role in raising the visibility of women in the cinematic landscape. Most important, however, is that women continue to contribute to the medium, until their presence is too great to be ignored.

Go forth, women, and create.


Is Pot the New Artist Merch? Freddie Gibbs Just Came Out With His Own Weed Strain

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Holy smokes! Hip hop star Freddie Gibbs is releasing a new cannabis strain called Freddie Kane OG, and we hear it's brain-meltingly good. 

Then again how couldn't it be? Developed with some help from the weed experts at Chroncierge, Freddie Kane's an indica/hybrid been described as "euphoric, tranquilizing and analgesic" -- which isn't surprising at 29% THC. So pack a bowl, blast some Piñata and think of other artists who could potentially sell kush as merch. Check out a few of our favorite (hypothetical) herbs below.

  • Rick Ross' Pear-Infused Bossativa 
  • Azaelia Stanks
  • Budson Mohawke 
  • M.I.A.'s Vaper Planes 
  • Indigo Girls (because, duh)

Diddy Just Dropped a New Album, and It Doesn't Have Nearly Enough Lil Kim

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With little-to-no warning, wealthy artist and Drake-puncher Diddy dropped his latest, MMM, an album by Puff Daddy and the Family it's not clear that anyone needed but that is certainly here now. It features Big Sean, Future, Pusha T, and several other people you may have heard of. But is it any good? (If the relative scarcity of Lil Kim is any indication, NO. Give us more Lil Kim, Diddy.) Check out MMM below.

Watch Carrie Brownstein and Amy Poehler Officiate an Impromptu Wedding

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While in Pasadena, California, Carrie Brownstein took a little break from hosting a discussion of her new memoir Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girlto officiate a last minute wedding between two women, Genevieve and Kendall, attending the event.

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With some help from Amy Poehler, who was co-hosting (and added some musical stylings with a piano rendition of "Greensleeves"), Brownstein (who is an ordained minister) gave a beautiful, on-the-spot monologue about love.

"I'm going to quote James Baldwin," Carrie starts before quickly adding, "perhaps incorrectly."

The actress/musician goes on to say that "love and life and togetherness involves a lot of 
incorrectly."

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 4.39.34 PM.pngAwwwww damn. Work that improv.

"All of us here are rooting for you," Brownstein says, "rooting for you is the way we root for ourselves, in the way that we root for love to always win out over despair, for hope to win out over fear, for joy to win out over sorrow." 

How are any of us supposed to get married now without Carrie Brownstein spouting gorgeous, organic statements about monogamy while Amy Poehler hands us flowers, then gazes adoringly from behind a piano?????

Watch the amazing clip below.
   



The 13 Must-See Art Shows Opening This Week

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bradf69878-1-0VuDYk.jpgMark Bradford

Hauser & Wirth (511 West 18th Street) opens their first NYC show with the L.A.-based artist Mark Bradford on Saturday, November 7, 6 to 8 p.m., and up until December 23rd.  The exhibition, "Be Strong Boquan," includes a new multimedia work called "Spiderman," plus several paintings, sculptures and a video, "Deimos," that depicts "the end of a party...(and) the reality of the AIDS crisis."  Check out THIS portrait of the artist in the June 22nd issue of The New Yorker.

Brainwashing1.jpgMartin Wong

This week, the Bronx Museum of the Arts 1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx) opens the first Martin Wong retrospective since he passed away in 1999.  Over 90 of the Chinese-American artist's paintings are included in the exhibition, "Human Instamatic," on view from November 4 until February 14.  Stop by Sunday, November 8, 3 to 5 p.m., for the museum's Fall Season Open House and you'll also see works from their permanent collection and hear music from Mobile Mondays DJs.

9781608876013.jpg.400x0_q20.jpgHowl! Happening (6 East 1st Street) continues their cool series of openings and events on Tuesday, November 10th, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., with a one-night-only celebration of the new book, "Punks, Poets and Provocateurs: New York City Bad Boys 1977 - 1982." There's a book signing, slide show and reading with photographer Marcia Resnick and write Victor Bockris.  Howl! also plans a full-on Resnick exhibition in February.

artist_17_artwork_ds017-large copy 2.jpgThe Brant Foundation (941 North Street, Greenwich, CT) opens "Freeze Means Run," the first US solo exhibition since 2006 by the late Dash Snow, on November 8 and up until March.  The show includes over 100 Polaroids, films, sculptures and collages; along with his large-scale piece "Book Fort" and the installation, "Untitled (Penis Envy)," from 2007.

Web_2015_Ivy_(Bubbles)_40x60_675_450.jpgRyan McGinley

Team Gallery (83 Grand Street) opens a new show, "Winter," by New York-based photographer Ryan McGinley on November 5th.  This is his seventh solo show with the gallery and runs concurrently with another McGinley show called "Fall" at the gallery's Venice, California, location.  Both are on view until December 20th.

richard_prince_bob_hope_WEB-detail-main.jpgRichard Prince

The Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35 Avenue, Astoria, Queens) takes a look at Hollywood film iconography via a big group show featuring 40 artists called "Walkers: Hollywood Afterlives in Art and Artifact" opening on November 7th and up until April 10, 2016.  Robert M. Rubin curated the exhibition, including everything from photos and sculptures to costumes designed for Rosemary's Baby.

deitchprojects_keithharing_evite_630x455px_8.75-22x_6.3125-22-rgb-151020-45136dc7589136de60ef7f31a148f9d3.jpgJeffrey Deitch (79 Grand Street) and Suzzanne Geiss open "Bombs and Dogs" featuring drawings, tarps, etc. by Keith Haring from the early 80s. On view from November 7 to December 21.

Reflection-2-400x293.jpgDavid Zwirner (525 & 533 West 19th Street) opens his first New York exhibition of works by UK artist Bridget Riley on Thursday, November 5, 6 to 8 p.m.  It's also her first NYC show since 2007.  Up until December 19.

The 2015 IFPDA Print Fair runs from November 4th thru the 8th at The Park Avenue Armory (643 Park Avenue).  Eighty-nine exhibitors are expected, showing various works including prints by Mike Bidlo -- who will also be on hand to "sign" 73 fair attendees -- Sue Coe, Tracey Emin, Sol Lewitt, William Kentridge and many more; plus there's an artist talk with Kiki Smith on Saturday at 11 a.m. s Their "sister fair"Editions/Artists' Books Fair  opens on November 5th with a VIP preview and then runs through Sunday at The Tunnel (269 11th Avenue).

SUCKADELIC-@-the-STANDARD-HOTEL-2.jpgThe Shop at The Standard High Line (442 West 13th Street) has another cool opening this week with "Suckadelic: Toy Lords of Chinatown"  featuring bootleg toys by The Super Sucklord (aka Morgan Phillips) opening on Thursday, November 5, 6 to 8 p.m., and on view until November 15.  Music on the night by Crystal Pharaoh.

The Hollows Artspace (708 Bushwick Avenue, Brooklyn) opens a group show, "Staves, Gussets, Laths, Tenons," on Wednesday, November 4, 6 to 10 p.m.  The 21 featured artists "integrate the support of their media into the visual; re-balancing relations of object, material, value, craft and function."  The show, curated by Piril Gunduz and Baptiste Semal, is up until December 20.

Shut NYC and The LB Project open a group show, "An American Art Exhibition Through Skateboarding," on Thursday, November 5th, 7 to 10 p.m., at Vocal NYC (77 Bleeker Street, suite C212).  Works by over 20 artists and photographers will be on view including Sam Taylor, Aaron Smith, Meka, Kyle Platts, Brian Gaberman and more.  The show benefits the Harold Hunter Foundation.

Sean Kelly (475 Tenth Avenue) opens two shows on Friday, November 6, 6 to 8p.m.: "Agnosia, An Illuminated Ontology" with an installation of neon works by the conceptual artist Joseph Kosuth, and "Unique," featuring a selection of Polaroids by Robert Mapplethorpe.  Both are up until December 19.

Callicoon Fine Arts (49 Delancey Street) has a show of new works by Jason Simon called "Request Lines Are Open" opening on Sunday, November 8, 6 to 8 p.m., and on view until December 20.  The show features several works generated by the artist's relationship with upstate radio DJ Liberty Green, including 8,000 letters from nearby prison inmates and photos of Green's home and the station, WJFF.

The Dia Art Foundation's fall gala honoring Robert Ryman is on Sunday, November 8, 6 to 9 p.m.  This event is "by invitation only." The Dia:Chelsea's upcoming Ryman exhibition will open on December 9. ALSO:  Flux Factory's fall benefit and 21st Birthday Banquet is on the 7th at 8 p.m.  Tickets are available HERE.









Listen to Grimes' Mostly Instrumental 'Art Angels' Opener "laughing and not being normal"

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Grimes has been gearing up for the November 6 release of her forthcoming LP Art Angels by sharing some new tracks from it, including pop-raver "Flesh without Blood," and the glorious, industrial heave "Scream."

Today, the electronic producer/singer previewed the album's opening track dryly titled "laughing and not being normal" on her own website, which you can listen to here.

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With the words "OVERTURE" scrawled across the screen, we're lead into the new territory with alien tentacles: a tune that's 3/4 instrumental, and is vaguely Aphex Twin, vaguely Zelda soundtrack, complete with strings and harps.

After crooning in an indecipherable language, Grimes sings, "When the leaves begin to fall, I try to catch them all," before melting into a dizzying, somewhat-ominous wall of sound.

The tune feels like it would fit perfectly during a concert with the Diva Plavalaguna, from The Fifth Element, and that's a very, very good thing.

Listen to it here.

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