Allan Ahlberg, the celebrated children's author, has died at age 87. His works with his late wife Janet (an award-winning illustrator), including "Woof!" "Each Peach Pear Plum" and "Funny Bones" were staples for kids around the world. He made headlines in 2014 when he refused a lifetime achievement award because it was sponsored by Amazon. Fellow author Michael Rosen wrote in his tribute on X "You were clever, funny and wise. My children loved your books. So did and so do I." Here's more from [@BBCNews](
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International news from the BBC. Follow BBCNews on Flipboard, to explore their latest magazines and flipped articles.
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Allan Ahlberg, celebrated children's author, dies aged 87
He wrote more than 150 books, including The Jolly Postman and Each Peach Pear Plum.
 #Books #Bookstodon @bookstodon group #AllanAhlberg #InMemoriam #RIP
Scurrilous rumors are circulating that use of a closed-up em dash is evidence that writing is AI generated. But what does the em dash think of this? McSweeney's imagines the conversation. "You think I showed up with ChatGPT? Mary Shelley used me… gratuitously. Dickinson? Obsessed. David Foster Wallace built a temple of footnotes in my name. I am not some sleek, futuristic glyph. I am the battered, coffee-stained backbone of writerly panic—the gasping pause where a thought should have ended but simply could not." https://flip.it/jUYqLa #Writing #AmWriting #Culture #Punctuation #EmDash #AI #ChatGPT
Everyone takes the subway in New York City — even the animals. A stray kitten went viral on TikTok when it wandered onto the train as though she was commuting to work. A woman. Betsaido Mercado scooped up the cat and took her home, where Emmie (after NYC's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or MTA) is now enjoying a cozy life with a new dog sibling. Here's more from [@Mashable](
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Mashable is a media and entertainment company for superfans. We're not for the casually curious. We devour culture and tech. Our ideas shape the fu...
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Mashable
Kitten in viral NYC subway video gets a new home
A truly heartwarming internet moment.
 #Cats #Pets #Lifestyle #NewYorkCity #NewYork #NYC #Subway #CatsOfMastodon
An American Eagle commercial starring Sydney Sweeney that bears the tagline "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans" has been described by progressives as having undercurrents of eugenics, which has led to mocking from right wingers about "hysterical libs." Charlie Warzel writes for [@TheAtlantic](
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Current affairs, politics, and culture. Follow TheAtlantic on Flipboard, to explore their latest magazines and flipped articles.
 ) about what this controversy says about the internet's effect on political and cultural discourse. "Very real concerns about the political direction of the country and the emboldening of bigots are reduced to: 'Democrats are triggered by cleavage,'" Warzel writes. "The right-wing-media apparatus has every incentive to go at the Sweeney stuff, as the MAGA coalition struggles to distract its base from Donald Trump’s Epstein-files debacle."
The Atlantic
The Discourse Is Broken
How did a jeans commercial with Sydney Sweeney come to this?
 #SydneySweeney #AmericanEagle #Culture #Lifestyle #Internet #JeffreyEpstein #InternetCulture #MAGA
Leanne Morgan is having an extraordinary couple of years: her scripted comedy "Leanne" arrives on Netflix tomorrow; in 2023, she had a standup special on the network followed by a successful book and a role in a movie alongside Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell. She talked to [@time](
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News and current events from around the globe. Follow time on Flipboard, to explore their latest magazines and flipped articles.
 ) about becoming a breakout star in her 50s, after years of slogging away on the comedy circuit while raising her three children in Tennessee. She's relieved that success hit when it did. “I'm glad that it was in my 50s,” she says, “when I'm too tired to do something awful.”
TIME
She Was a Stay-at-Home Mom in Tennessee. Now She's the Star of a Netflix Comedy
How Leanne Morgan became a hot new talent in her 50s
 #LeanneMorgan #Comedy #Netflix #Entertainment #Television #TV
The hula hoop became a craze in the late 1950s, but the woman who gave it its name was never given credit. Here's [@BBCNews](
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BBC News (@BBCNews) on Flipboard
International news from the BBC. Follow BBCNews on Flipboard, to explore their latest magazines and flipped articles.
 )'s story about Joan Anderson, who has died at age 101.
Joan Anderson, who helped create the hula hoop, dies aged 101
Anderson claimed she came up with the name 'hula hoop' and played a crucial role in introducing the toy to the US.
 #Lifestyle #History #HulaHoop #PopCulture
Is Pedro Pascal, one of the most vocal progressive celebrities, the victim of a social media smear campaign, and if so, why? Pascal, who has criticized Hollywood's "passivity" over Gaza, spoken out in support of trans rights and called JK Rowling a "heinous loser," is facing viral accusations on X and on some news websites that he has been groping women. Some of these rumors are based on faked videos and an interview that he never gave, despite it being cited by Google's AI summaries. "The basis of the allegations against Pascal isn’t true, and none of the women he’s been accused of groping have said so themselves," writes Kat Tenbarge, for her Spitfire News newsletter. "What’s happening to Pascal across these viral posts is a smear campaign, one spearheaded by bigots against a celebrity whose inclusive stance directly challenges their beliefs." Here's more. ttps://flip.it/jEao6y #Celebrity #PedroPascal #TransRights #Gaza #Entertainment #Hollywood #SocialMedia
Well, this is a pleasant surprise! "The Naked Gun" hits the big screen on August 1, and initial reactions from critics are really, really positive. "The Naked Gun is so deliciously stupid, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Very true to the spirit of the Leslie Nielsen movies I grew up loving," said Variety's Katcy Stephan. "If there was any justice in the world, Liam Neeson would get an Oscar," wrote IndieWire contributor Jimmy Hemphill. Here's [@GamesRadar](
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 )'s story on the critical consensus, and what to expect from the movie.
GamesRadar+
The Naked Gun sequel called
The film is arriving in cinemas on August 1
 #Movies #Cinema #Film #NakedGun #LiamNeeson