Man Accused Of Vandalizing 1929 Picasso Surrenders

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HOUSTON — A man accused of vandalizing a 1929 Pablo Picasso painting in an act caught on cellphone video surrendered Tuesday to federal marshals at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Uriel Landeros, 22, of Houston, turned himself over to marshals at the international bridge near McAllen, Texas.

“I don’t regret anything that I’ve done,” Landeros told KPRC-TV of Houston in an interview.

Landeros was charged in June with felony graffiti and criminal mischief for spray painting the artwork titled “Woman in a Red Armchair” at the Menil Collection in Houston.

The painting was damaged June 13 in an act caught in a 24-second video taken by a bystander and posted on YouTube. The vandal left behind an image of a bullfighter, a bull and the word “conquista,” the Spanish word for conquest.

Once the man walks away, the person taking the video walks up to the painting, recording the damage. This, plus the fact that the witness happened to film the vandal at the moment he damaged the painting, has some speculating whether the two were working together.

Landeros fled to Mexico afterward and might have been there since June, his attorney, Emily Detoto said Tuesday.

“He surrendered at the urging of his family and myself, to come in and get started on the process,” she told the Houston Chronicle.

In his television interview, which KPRC said was conducted in November, Landeros said he aligned himself with the Occupy movement and that the vandalism was an act of social and political defiance.

“It’s just a piece of cloth,” he said. “What matters most is the people who are suffering.”

He added, “If I wanted to destroy that piece, I could have done it. The spray paint that I used was easily taken away.”

The painting is still being restored, KTRK-TV of Houston reported.

It Ain’t Over: From A Blank Canvas They Created A $20 Million Empire

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One of the reasons I started my website was so that women could have a place to come together and dream. We women need to know that we don’t have to hang on to an old dream that has stopped nurturing us — that there is always time to start a new dream. This week’s story is about two women who found a way to make anyone an artist, while giving back to their community after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. -– Marlo, MarloThomas.com

By Lori Weiss
Just over the big bridge from New Orleans, lies a city that will take you a step back in time. Some refer to Mandeville, Louisiana as a kind of Mayberry, where neighbors help neighbors and it’s not unheard of for the city attorney to take his payment in blueberry pies. The small resort town has a few stop lights, a Walmart and today, what some might call an empire — an empire that was built by Cathy Deano and Renee Maloney, two stay-at-home moms, who wanted to add a little color to their lives.

“We lived just blocks from each other,” Renee explained, “and we’d walk around the lakefront every morning and talk about things we could do. We were room mothers together, we raised funds for our community after Hurricane Katrina together, and Cathy had gotten me involved with the local arts association — but we were beginning to ask, What about us?”

“My husband is nine years older than me,” Cathy added, “and while I didn’t want to tell him I was worried that something could happen to him, I felt like if something did, I’d be falling down on my job if I couldn’t educate my son.”

“I got married at 20,” Renee continued, “and started having babies by the time I was 24. All I ever wanted was to be a great mom. But my own mother said to me one day, ‘They’re going to grow up and then what?’ And it really made me think.”

So as the two friends walked, they talked about their options. Renee thought it might be fun to create a science fair in a box, something she’d had a lot of experience with, while raising three kids. And Cathy, who has a degree in interior design, thought maybe they could start an architectural salvage company. But what they really wanted was something where they could be equals — and they found it, in Cathy’s backyard barn, with a little bit of paint and a whole lot of wine.

“Cathy was convinced that anyone could be an artist,” Renee said, “that it was just like cooking and that we could offer group painting classes. She said, ‘If I stood by you and told you what to put into the pot and you did everything I told you, you’d be a cook.’ I wasn’t so sure. I failed 6th grade art.”

“So I asked her, ‘what would make you try it?’” Cathy recalled with a smile.

“And I said, ‘I guess if I could drink,’” Renee laughed.

“So we put together a class in my backyard barn,” Cathy explained. “We went to the local art store and bought brushes and easels. And on the way back, we picked up five bottles of wine. We invited our family and close friends, knowing they’d at least come for the wine, and if it flopped they wouldn’t tell anyone. And we brought in my sister’s step-daughter, who was an artist and teacher.”

“I figured if mine came out really bad, I could blame it on the wine,” Renee added with a shrug. “But she took us all through every step. Put a dot there. Now put a dot four inches down. Then she had us connect the dots. And in two hours, 15 of us had each painted a Matisse. And I didn’t have one flashback to 6th grade!”

So in the middle of a recession, in a community that was still cleaning up from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the two women who had devoted endless hours to their local art association, decided to begin with a blank canvas. They set out to create a business that would give their neighbors a welcome break from the problems that surrounded them.

On a shoestring budget, the pair found a small place near their homes — and got on their hands and knees — scrubbing and painting until the place looked presentable. Glass tables Cathy brought from home doubled as desks and the two women shared a used $200 laptop computer. Weeks later, easels were in places, an art instructor who could turn just about anyone into a budding Picasso was on site and a “bring your own bottle” policy was in place. They named their studio “Corks N Canvas” and opened the doors to their very first students.

“People thought we were crazy to do this,” Cathy said, “they kept telling us that people didn’t have disposable income during a recession, that they were still worried about fixing their homes. But what we knew was that alcohol, movies and make-up don’t suffer during bad times, because they make you feel better about yourself. People were looking for an escape. And we sold out immediately.

“It was all word of mouth. Our customers started posting their paintings on Facebook! They’d walk into their offices and say, ‘I had the best time last night.’ You wouldn’t typically say to someone, Let me tell you about the painting I did, but you will tell them about somewhere you went and had a great time. People were driving across the river from New Orleans.”

“One night we had a power outage,” Renee added, “and we offered everyone their money back. They insisted on staying and they all went out and turned their car lights on, so they’d shine into the building. And they just kept on painting. I remember one woman said, ‘This is better than yoga because you can drink wine!'”

In the first six months, the pair turned a profit and put every dime back they’d borrowed from their savings. It wasn’t long before they opened three more Louisiana stores and then something interesting happened. Their customers, many of whom had come back to visit after being evacuated during Hurricane Katrina, began asking about opening their own art studios –- in their new hometowns.

They literally had potential franchisees knocking at their door, before they’d even decided to sell the concept. So with a little help, they packaged their business, named it “Painting With A Twist” (the twist being the wine, of course) and started interviewing potential candidates.

“One couple had evacuated to Houston,” Cathy said. “The wife’s company moved there and they followed, but the husband was a photographer and had lost all of his equipment in the storm. They felt like refugees. When you’re born and raised in New Orleans, you feel like there’s nowhere else. But once they set up their studio, they immediately became immersed in the community. He said he didn’t feel like he’d ever be home again, but now Houston has become their home.”

Today, just five years since the women got started, there are 67 franchises and the company has brought in more than $20 million in revenue. But the ladies haven’t forgotten where they came from. The former stay-at–home moms, who spent their spare time volunteering in the community, have made giving back a core value of the company. Every month, each of the franchises holds a fundraiser called “Painting With A Purpose,” which gives back to the community. And at the end of every class, when students walk out with their renditions of a Renoir or Van Gogh, the instructors donate theirs to a family that’s moving into a new Habitat For Humanity home.

“We didn’t have any grandiose plans when we started this,” Renee explained. “It was just a fun thing to do. We didn’t even think of it as an official business. But we’re learning something new every day.

“I have a plaque in my office that says ‘I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.’ That’s exactly how we feel,” she said as she reached for Cathy’s arm. “And neither of us can imagine being here with anyone else.”

To find a class near you, you can visit PaintingWithATwist.com.

Redskins Name Change Discussion Necessary, Says D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray

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The Huffington Post  |  By

If the Washington Redskins ever want to return to the city of D.C., the team will need to seriously consider changing its name.

That was the message sent by D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, following a press conference Wednesday. Gray said that the team, which lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC wild-card game Sunday, must consider a name change if it is serious about moving from FedEx Field in Landover, Md., to a stadium inside D.C. proper, according to Yahoo! Sports.

“I think that if they get serious with the team coming back to Washington, there’s no doubt there’s going to have to be a discussion about that,” Gray said, according to the Washington Post. “I think it has become a lightning rod, and I would be love to be able to sit down with the team … and see if a change should be made. There’s a precedent for this, and I think there needs to be a dispassionate discussion about this, and do the right thing.”

For decades, the team name has been a controversial issue. Some call the “Redskins” moniker nothing short of a racial slur. Others argue that the team’s name, which dates back to the 1930s, is tradition and does not need to be changed. In 1992, a quarter century after the name was formally trademarked, a group of Native Americans filed a disparagement lawsuit against the brand, reports the Christian Science Monitor. The suit was dismissed in 2009, when the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, but calls have continued for the team’s current owner, Dan Snyder, to approve a name change.

In October, the D.C.’s alternative weekly, the Washington City Paper, announced it would no longer print the team’s official name, which the publication said was a “pejorative term for Native Americans.” After an online reader poll, the City Paper began referring to the team as the Washington Pigskins.

Snyder, however, remains unswayed.

If the pro football team were to change its name, the organization would join a growing list of sports teams that have already ditched the name. For example, The Monitor reports that between 1991 and 2008, 11 high schools and two colleges stopped using the name Redskins for their teams.

What is Art Deco

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The style we now call Art Deco originated in Europe in the early 20th Century, and its heyday was from 1920 to 1940.

It became widely known following the great Exposition des Arts Modernes Decoratifs et Industriels, held in Paris in 1925 and from which its name was ultimately derived.

By the late 1930s it was in its streamlined phase and after World War II, the International Style, devoid of all decoration, held sway. Not until the late 1960s did people begin to rediscover it and take it seriously.

Art Deco expressed all the vigor and optimism of the roaring twenties, and the idealism and escapism of the grim thirties.

Its decorative themes are:

•     Sunbursts and fountains – representing the dawn of a new modern age.
•     The Skyscraper shape – symbolic of the 20th century.
•     Symbols of speed, power and flight – the exciting new developments in transport and communications.
•     Geometric shapes – representing the machine and technology which it was thought would solve all our problems.
•     The new woman – reveling in her recently won social freedoms.
•     Breaking the rules – cacophonous jazz, short skirts and hair, shocking dances.
•     Ancient cultures – for oddly enough, there was a fascination with the civilizations of Egypt and Central America.

All of these themes are represented on the buildings of Napier, most of which are still standing today and are lovingly cared for by their owners. Nearby Hastings was also stricken by the earthquake and has many buildings in the same Art Deco style.

 Why rebuild in the Art Deco Style?

What is Art …. ? …. What is an Artist ?

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INTRODUCTION

               ART has not always been what we think it is today. An object regarded as Art today may not have been perceived as such when it was first made, nor was the person who made it necessarily regarded as an artist. Both the notion of “art” and the idea of the “artist” are relatively modern terms.

           Many of the objects we identify as art today — Greek painted pottery, medieval manuscript illuminations, and so on — were made in times and places when people had no concept of “art” as we understand the term. These objects may have been appreciated in various ways and often admired, but not as “art” in the current sense.

           ART lacks a satisfactory definition. It is easier to describe it as the way something is done — “the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others” (Britannica Online) — rather than what it is.

           The idea of an object being a “work of art” emerges, together with the concept of the Artist, in the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy.

           During the Renaissance, the word Art emerges as a collective term encompassing Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, a grouping given currency by the Italian artist and biographer Giorgio Vasari in the 16th century. Subsequently, this grouping was expanded to include Music and Poetry which became known in the 18th century as the ‘Fine Arts’. These five Arts have formed an irreducible nucleus from which have been generally excluded the ‘decorative arts’ and ‘crafts’, such as as pottery, weaving, metalworking, and furniture making, all of which have utility as an end.

           But how did Art become distinguished from the decorative arts and crafts? How and why is an artist different from a craftsperson?

           In the Ancient World and Middle Ages the word we would translate as ‘art’ today was applied to any activity governed by rules. Painting and sculpture were included among a number of human activities, such as shoemaking and weaving, which today we would call crafts.
Read more on Art & Artists in the Ancient World and Middle Ages…

           During the Renaissance, there emerged a more exalted perception of art, and a concomitant rise in the social status of the artist. The painter and the sculptor were now seen to be subject to inspiration and their activities equated with those of the poet and the musician.
Read more on Art & Artists in the Renaissance….

           In the latter half of the 16th century the first academies of art were founded, first in Italy, then in France, and later elsewhere. Academies took on the task of educating the artist through a course of instruction that included such subjects as geometry and anatomy. Out of the academies emerged the term “Fine Arts” which held to a very narrow definition of what constituted art.
Read more on Art & Artists in the Academies…

           The institutionalizing of art in the academies eventually provoked a reaction to its strictures and definitions in the 19th century at which time new claims were made about the nature of painting and sculpture. By the middle of the century, “modernist” approaches were introduced which adopted new subject matter and new painterly values. In large measure, the modern artists rejected, or contradicted, the standards and principles of the academies and the Renaissance tradition. By the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, artists began to formulate the notion of truth to one’s materials, recognizing that paint is pigment and the canvas a two-dimensional surface. At this time the call also went up for “Art for Art’s Sake.”
Read more on Art & Artists and Modernism…

           In the early 20th century all traditional notions of the identity of the artist and of art were thrown into disarray by Marcel Duchamp and his Dada associates. In ironic mockery of the Renaissance tradition which had placed the artist in an exalted authoritative position, Duchamp, as an artist, declared that anything the artist produces is art. For the duration of the 20th century, this position has complicated and undermined how art is perceived but at the same time it has fostered a broader, more inclusive assessment of art.
Read more on Art & Artists Today…

 

1. Art & Artists in the Ancient World and Middle Ages

2. Art & Artists in the Renaissance

3. Art & Artists in the Academies

4. Art & Artists and Modernism

5. Art & Artists Today

What Is Art?

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From , former About.com Guide

Question: What Is Art?

Note: This is a question that pops up around once a month, typically from a student who is stumped and pressed for time. My answer, a compilation of replies, is as follows.

Answer: There are several ways you could go on this, but my suspicion is that one will get you better results than the others.

I could tell you that art plays a large part in making our lives infinitely rich. Imagine, just for a minute, a world without art! (You may think “So what?” but please consider the impact that lack of graphics would have on your favorite video game.) Art stimulates different parts of our brains to make us laugh or incite us to riot, with a whole gamut of emotions in between. Art gives us a way to be creative and express ourselves. For some people, art is the entire reason they get out of bed in the morning. You could say “Art is something that makes us more thoughtful and well-rounded humans.”

On the other hand, art is such a large part of our everyday lives that we may hardly even stop to think about it. Look at the desk or table where you are, right this minute. Someone designed that. It is art. Your shoes are art. Your coffee cup is art. All functional design, well done, is art. So, you could say “Art is something that is both functional and (hopefully) aesthetically pleasing to our eyes.”

You might say “Art is in a constant state of change, so nobody can really pin down what it is.” The constant change part is true, but the not pinning it down part is going to get you a bad grade. It may even raise a comment or two about your being some sort of wisenheimer. Don’t go this route.

You might even say “Art is subjective, and means something different to every single person on earth.” This, too, is the truth. I would caution against this approach, however, as it would require a stack of paper from here to the moon to cite all of your 6.8 billion references.

Now, everything just stated has elements of truth, but is largely based on opinion. My opinion is, frankly, useless in your paper-writing endeavor. Form your own opinions (that should be the reason you are receiving an education, after all), and be sure to sprinkle them in your answer … which needs a factual basis, so here are the cold hard facts:

Art is form and content.

“Art is form and content” means: All art consists of these two things.

Form means:

  • The elements of art,
  • the principles of design and
  • the actual, physical materials that the artist has used.Form, in this context, is concrete and fairly easily described–no matter which piece of art is under scrutiny.

    Suppose you’ve written: “One half of all art is form. Here is how Goya’s The Shootings of May Third, 1808 fits in.” You would then go on to provide details about how Goya used color, value, space and line (elements of art). He used balance, contrast, emphasis and proportion (principles of design). He composed the aforementioned elements and principles on canvas, using brushes and oil paints (the physical materials).

    The example just given employed a work of Western art, and was written in English. It doesn’t take much of a leap in imagination, though, to understand that the concepts behind “form” could be applied to any piece of art, created anywhere on earth, at any time, using any language. With that, we have successfully covered “form.”

    Content, now, gets a little more tricky. Content is idea-based and means:

    • What the artist meant to portray,
    • what the artist actually did portray and
    • how we react, as individuals, to both the intended and actual messages.

    Additionally, content includes ways in which a work was influenced–by religion, or politics, or society in general, or even the artist’s use of hallucinogenic substances–at the time it was created. All of these factors, together, make up the content side of art.

    Returning to the Goya example, you might comment on the fact that the shootings were an actual event. Napoleon had invaded Spain, at the time, and subjected it to six years of war and revolution (political and social influences). There had been a revolt by citizens of Madrid, and they were summarily executed (historical context). Goya, obviously, didn’t think this was good and recorded the stark horror for all posterity. (He was successful at conveying that which he meant to convey.) We react to the painting in our different ways – usually with mixed feeling of revulsion, anger and sorrow.

    Again, we are discussing content using one picture as an example, but the same parameters apply to any piece of art.

    That’s my best reply, then. The first four paragraphs are applicable – with infinite variations, up to, and including, “The way my girlfriend puts on her eyeshadow is art.” Just be sure that your main argument includes “Art is form and content.” You can certainly think of some great examples using works of art that you know and/or enjoy. Now. Go get cracking on that paper and, next time, don’t wait until the last minute.

Atlanta’s National Center for Civil and Human Rights Construction to Resume

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Atlanta’s National Center for Civil and Human Rightshas taken another

step toward construction.

Although the center broke ground last summer, major construction on the downtown site had to wait until the permitting process was completed.

Now, the stage is set for work to begin.

Contractor Holder Construction Company recently filed for land development permits at 100 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, the site of the center, according to the City of Atlanta.

In December, Doug Shipman, chief executive officer of the center for civil and human rights, told SaportaReport.com that the center is on schedule to open in spring 2014, and that the public could expect to see cranes on the site in February.

The center will join other downtown attractions, eventually sharing the same block as the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca Cola.

Read more: Atlanta Business Chronicle

Robert Griffin III Expected to be Sidelined 6 to 8 Months After Surgery

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Robert Griffin III should be healthy at the start of the 2013 NFL season, according to Dr. James Andrews, who performed surgery to repair torn ligaments in the right knee of the dynamic Washington Redskins rookie quarterback.

Andrews, the foremost authority on reconstructive surgery, fixed Griffin’s torn lateral collateral ligament and performed a “re-do” of his previous anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction from 2009, Andrews said Wednesday in a statement.

Sources told ESPN that barring a setback, Griffin would be sidelined between six and eight months, meaning he would be able to participate to some degree during training camp in August and potentially be prepared to go at the start of the season in September.

“We expect a full recovery and it is everybody’s hope and belief that due to Robert’s high motivation, he will be ready for the 2013 season,” Andrews said in the statement.

“The goal of his treatment is to give him the best opportunity for a long professional career,” he said.

Griffin was diagnosed late Tuesday with a complete tear of the patella graft that was used to repair his torn ACL suffered at Baylor in 2009. A Redskins source told ESPN Tuesday that Andrews was likely to use a patella graft from Griffin’s left knee to repair the most recent tear.

Griffin took to Twitter Wednesday.”Thank you for your prayers and support. I love God, my family, my team, the fans & I love this game. See you guys next season,” he wrote.

After reviewing the game film, coach Mike Shanahan said he believes Griffin suffered his knee injury on the play before the errant snap, when his knee gave out as he tried to plant his leg and scoop up the ball.

The knee problems arose for Griffin when he was hit by Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata at the end of a 13-yard scramble. Griffin missed one game and returned to play three more while wearing a bulky knee brace, his mobility clearly hindered.

Shanahan has been under scrutiny and criticism for not pulling an obviously hobbled Griffin from the game as he struggled as a passer and runner.

About Curtis Bunn
Curtis Bunn is a best-selling novelist and national award-winning sports journalist who has worked at The Washington Times, NY Newsday, The New York Daily News and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Biden Says Obama Could Take Executive Action on Gun Control

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In a strong signal that the Obama administration is serious about instituting new gun control measures, Vice President Joe Biden   said today that the president would be using executive action — in addition to pushing legislation in Congress —to make it harder for individuals to commit mass murders with firearms.

Sitting beside Attorney General Eric Holder before a cross-section of gun-control advocates, Biden affirmed that the administration and President Obama were serious about making substantive changes. The president is trying to ride the wave of public revulsion at the massacre in Newtown, Conn., where 20-year-old Adam Lanza used assault weapons to kill 20 young children and six educators, in addition to killing his mother and himself.

The push for significant gun control measures is something Washington has not attempted in nearly 20 years since President Bill Clinton was able to get an assault weapons ban through Congress. Biden was instrumental in getting the assault weapons ban through when he was a senator.

But the ban was allowed to expire in 2004 during the Bush administration, as Congressional members feared retaliation from the powerful National Rifle Association and the gun lobby.

“The president is going to act,” Biden said. “There are executive orders, there’s executive action that can be taken. We haven’t decided what that is yet. But we’re compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and the rest of the Cabinet members, as well as legislative action that we believe is required.”

The president announced last month that Biden would be charged with presenting actions that can be taken by the end of the month.

“A majority of Americans support banning the sale of military-style assault weapons,” the president said in December when he announced the Biden panel. “A majority of Americans support banning the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips. A majority of Americans support laws requiring background checks before all gun purchases so that criminals can’t take advantage of legal loopholes to buy a gun from somebody who won’t take the responsibility of doing a background check at all.”

While Congress is deliberating on legislation, Biden suggested, the president might use executive action to make changes that do not require Congressional approval.

“We’re not going to get caught up in the notion that unless we can do everything, we’re going to do nothing,” Biden said. ” It’s critically important that we act.”

Today’s meeting included both advocates of gun control, such as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and the Mayors Against Illegal Guns.  There were also two survivors from the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech, and the stepfather of one of the victims of last year’s shooting rampage at the Aurora, Colo., movie theater.

“I want to hear about your experiences,” Biden said to the group while the media was in the room. “I’m convinced that we can affect the well-being of millions of Americans and take thousands of people out of harm’s way if we act responsibly.”

After the meeting adjourned, Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign, said it was “very productive and actually inspiring.” He said the administration’s intent is to figure out how to keep the country from losing more lives to gun violence, not to take guns away from lawful owners.

“Words like comprehensive and broad don’t mean taking guns away from law-abiding citizens,” Gross said as he stood on the White House driveway. “This is not a debate around the Second Amendment.”

He said the advocates also pushed Biden to seek executive actions that would not require Congressional approval, such as having the Justice Department prosecute people who lie on their background checks.

But lying in wait is the gun rights lobby and a Congress that now sounds reluctant to take on this issue.

“The biggest problem we have at the moment is spending and debt,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said this week. “That’s going to dominate the Congress between now and the end of March. None of these issues will have the kind of priority as spending and debt over the next two or three months.”

On Thursday Biden is scheduled to sit down with the other side, gun owners and gun rights groups, such as the NRA, that oppose significant new gun restrictions. That meeting is less likely to include much inspiration and harmony.

In a sign of how potentially troublesome this issue is for gun retailers, Walmart, whose stores are the largest seller of guns in the country, at first told The Wall Street Journal that it would not be sending anyone to the meeting because none of its executives were available. But David Tovar, the vice president for Walmart corporate communications, changed his tune on Wednesday morning.

“We underestimated the expectation to attend the meeting on Thursday in person, so we are sending an appropriate representative to participate,” Tovar said in a statement. “We take this issue very seriously and are committed to staying engaged in this discussion as the administration and Congress work toward a consensus on the right path forward.”

Biden and Holder aren’t the only Cabinet members engaged on the gun issue. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will meet with parent and teacher groups, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will meet with mental health and disability advocates. In addition, there will be other meetings with community organizations, business owners and religious leaders.

About Nick Chiles
Nick Chiles is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author. He has written or co-written 11 books and won over a dozen major journalism awards during a journalism career that brought him to the Dallas Morning News, the Star-Ledger of New Jersey and New York Newsday, in addition to serving as Editor-in-Chief of Odyssey Couleur travel magazine.

Danny Quirk’s Body Art Will Creep You Out In A Good Way (PHOTOS)

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Scientific illustrator Danny Quirk was just trying to make his girlfriend a Halloween costume when he stumbled upon viral gold.

His stunning anatomical reproductions, made of Sharpie and latex, quickly gained an Internet following, prompting Quirk to draw on his own hand “as a means of self promoting in public,” the illustrator wrote in an e-mail to the Huffington Post.

The anatomical artiste with an eye for the human physique then created a series of paintings that bring our insides into the public view. While the “Body Worlds”-esque works are not for the squeamish, Quirk assured us the illustrations are “not intended to be morbid.” He wrote, “[They’re] about self exploration, and aesthetic education.”

Take a look at Quirk’s body art and anatomical paintings below and let us know if you’d wear your arteries on your sleeve in the comments section.

Nicki Minaj Steps Out In Black Lace Dress And Looks Normal…Again (PHOTO)

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The Huffington Post  |  By

Nicki Minaj is on a roll–straight down the road to dressing normal, that is.

The 30-year-old rapper stepped out Tuesday night wearing a figure-hugging and considerably tame black lace dress for the Fox TCA Winter All Star party in California. The ensemble was finished off with a chunky gold Versace chain and sky-high Christian Louboutin stilettos. Nicki also ditched her signature colorful wigs for the event and opted for a jet black coif with blunt bangs.

We don’t think she’s completely done dressing in her wild costume-esque threads, but the “American Idol” judge has surprised us lately with a few semi-conservative looks. Let’s hope she keeps it up!


Elin Nordegren Bikini: Tiger Woods’ Ex Shows Off Flawless Body In The Bahamas (PHOTO, VIDEO)

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Elin Nordegren showed Tiger Woods exactly what he is missing when she stripped down to a skimpy bikini while on vacation in the Bahamas.


Nordegren showed off her flawless body in a sexy black lace string bikini while walking along the beach in the Bahamas on Sunday, Us Weekly reports. She topped off her look with a straw hat and sunglasses,

SCROLL FOR PHOTO

Some might find it hard to believe the Swedish former model is a mother of two.

Nordegren wore the skimpy string bikini just days after celebrating her 33rd birthday at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island with her two children, her brother and his family, according to E! News.

Nordegren and Woods divorced in 2010 after nearly six years of marriage. The family was thrust into the spotlight when it was revealed that Woods had cheated on his wife with more than a dozen women. They now share custody of their two children, Sam, 5, and Charlie, 3.

Since the $100 million divorce, Nordegren has been romantically linked to businessman Jamie Dingman and Swedish hockey player Douglas Murray, whom she was spotted dining with in Miami last month.

Nordegren is currently building a $12.2 million, 21,000-square-foot mansion in North Palm Beach, Fla., TMZ reports.

PHOTO: Elin Nordegren walks along the beach in the Bahamas on Sunday, Jan. 6.

Beyonce & Inauguration: Singer Will Be Joined By Kelly Clarkson & James Taylor At January Event

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Beyonce and the inauguration: A match made in heaven?

The Huffington Post  |  By

President Barack Obama will be sworn in to his second term to the tune of Beyonce.

People Magazine and Politico reported Wednesday that the singer will lead the performances at the inauguration on Jan. 21, where she will be singing the National Anthem. Also tapped to perform equally patriotic songs are Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor. Clarkson will sing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” while Taylor will do his best “America the Beautiful.”

At Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, Aretha Franklin took the honor of performing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” Beyonce was also involved in Obama’s first inauguration – she sang the Etta James standard “At Last” for the first dance at the Inaugural Ball.

Beyonce is also the headlining act for this year’s Super Bowl. The singer’s husband, Jay-Z, performed at an Ohio rally on the eve of the 2012 election, but inauguration plans have yet to include the rapper.

The second inauguration, which is being publicized as much more low-key than Obama’s first star-studded event, will include more performers who will be announced in the coming weeks. Already added to the list is poet Richard Blanco. At 44, Blanco is the youngest-ever Inaugural poet, as well as the first Hispanic and first LGBT poet to perform at the presidential inauguration.

Civil rights activist and former wife to the deceased Medgar Evers, Myrlie Evers-Williams will also reportedly be a part of the Inauguration.

Beyonce GQ Cover? Singer Shows Major Skin On Magazine Cover (PHOTO)

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The Huffington Post  |  By

Wowzas! The internet is abuzz with the image of a nearly naked Beyonce covering what could be GQ’s February issue.

She’s a bit more covered up than Rihanna’s racy cover for the glossy, but that’s not saying much considering the image that’s been circulating.

On the potential cover, the 31-year-old singer is seen showing off her Bootylicious body in a cropped peek-a-boob athletic tee (she’s clearly getting ready for her major Super Bowl performance), red leopard panties with zipper pockets (feisty and functional) and plenty of bling (“All Gold Everything”).

Thanks for renewing our New Year’s resolution to hit the gym, Bey! And lest we forget, she gave birth to Blue Ivy a mere 366 days ago. Ugh.

There’s no confirmation on whether this is indeed GQ’s official February issue, but we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, feast your eyes on what might be Beyonce’s sexiest cover ever–unless Vogue ups the ante.

 

Jon Stewart Calls Out Gun Control Opponents: ‘It Is Absolutely The Time To Talk’ (VIDEO)

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Jon Stewart devoted his entire show to the subject of gun control on Tuesday, including discussing the subject with retired General Stanley McChrystal. But it was his two-part opener that was less satire and more impassioned plea for reasonable discussion and ideas that cut right to the heart of the matter.

In a particularly eye-opening correlation, Stewart showed how multiple points of legislation and enforcement reduced the number of drunk-driving incidents in this country, insisting that the same might be done for gun violence.

“How about we make assault rifles available but only in shooting ranges, make guns less sexy so they won’t be considered so cool by young people, the next Jason Bourne movie stars Woody Allen, how about that?”

He also took on the notion that violent video games and movies are the sole source of the problem, brandishing a fake assault rifle after watching a series of news clips designed to gin up hysteria and outrage.

After featuring multiple shots of gun control opponents saying “it’s not the time to talk”, “gun control doesn’t work”, and scapegoating anything but our obsession with firearms, Stewart made an impassioned plea for a united, non-partisan commitment to ending massacres like the ones in Newtown and Aurora. He also made it clear that refusing to even consider gun control options is currently our biggest obstacle.

Watch part one above and part two below, then let us know what you think should be done to solve the epidemic of violence in America. Remember, as Jon said there are (almost) no bad ideas.