Category: News

This article originally appeared on 03.04.20

There are few more fulfilling hobbies than having a love of books.

Reading isn’t just a great way to have a good time. Reading increases brain connectivity, makes people more empathetic, reduces depression symptoms, improves vocabulary, and may even cause you to live longer.

It’s a huge benefit for a child’s development as well. According to Parent.com, reading “stimulates the side of the brain that helps with mental imagery, understanding, and language processing, and that brain activity.”

Sure beats wasting time playing video games.

Thirteen-year-old Callum Manning wanted to share his love of reading with the world, so on February 23, he created an Instagram account where he posted photos of the books he’s read. It started with a post about Stephen King’s “The Shining.”

“So I guess I’m going to start this account off with one of my favourite books, Callum wrote. “This book was the first book I read in 1 day. And I was like 10. So yeah it scared me.”

See on Instagram

He would go on to fill his pages with books such as “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, “1984” by George Orwell, and current classics such as “A Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” by J.K. Rowling

Kids Callum’s age can be exceptionally cruel. A group of them created a group chat where they bullied him for his love of books and then invited him to join. After subjecting him to emotional abuse, they kicked him out of the chat.

“I don’t tend to cry that often but I think that was the first time in a while I’ve actually cried,” Callum told PA Media.

His older sister, Ellis Landreth, was understandably upset about the cruelty, so she tweeted about the group chat, hoping about “20 or 30 of my friends [would] like a few of his posts or follow him or give him some words of encouragement.”

Her tweet would go viral, receiving over 180,000 likes.

Canu2019t believe how awful kids are. My little brothers made an Instagram reviewing and talking about books and kids in his new school have seen it and have created a group chat calling him a creep slagging him off about it and added him to it so he could see pic.twitter.com/wuuj2XlO34

— Ellis (@Ellis)
1582972178

She was bombarded by responses from people who wanted to support her brother.

I think the love from all around the world has probably let him know he isn’t alone. But all the interesting people I know were once considered weird kids with books. Including me.

— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) March 2, 2020

I’ve followed him and dropped him a little message but I’d love to buy him a book or send him over an amazon gift card – I’m sure he has a lot of books on the way but please DM me if there’s any book he doesn’t have 😊

— beffy (@beffybadbelly) March 1, 2020

Just a few hours after the tweet, Callum received thousands of followers on his page. In just three days, he’s up to nearly 400,000 followers. He’s also received countless messages of support through the page.

English novelist Matt Haig sent Callum a collection of books, adding: “Hey let’s all follow Cals Book Account on Instagram and show him some support.” A book store near Manning’s home in northeast England promised him a book on the house.

Callum’s story was shared on Instagram by authors Caroline Kepnes and Malorie Blackman.

The teenager has received over 15,000 messages in his DMs. “He’s absolutely overwhelmed,” Landreth told CNN. “He can’t even get through all his DMs.”

Callum’s mother is over the moon about the response. “She’s so happy people are spreading positive messages about these issues,” Landreth said. “No matter how small some things seem, they can stick with kids forever.”

TikTok has done plenty of things for the mental health community outside of annoying therapists with incessant pathologizing of benign human behaviors. One of the positive things the platform has done is to help push mental health awareness and normalization of mental illnesses.

Kris, who’s goes by KallmeKris on TikTok, recently posted a new skit on her page about intrusive thoughts that explores what it would be like if people said their intrusive thoughts out loud. The video was hilarious and people in the comments were happy to share their own intrusive thoughts.

If you’re unfamiliar with intrusive thoughts, they’re these brief pop-up thoughts that oftentimes seem out of character and unrelated to whatever activity you’re doing. In some cases they’re related to the activity but the thought is something you’d never actually do, like tripping random children at a soccer game, just because.

If the thought of someone thinking about tripping children made you wince a bit, understand that it makes the person having the intrusive thought wince too. In the skit, which has racked up more than 4 million likes, Kris says her random intrusive thoughts out loud while hanging out with her “friend” and the friend’s reaction is hilarious. The comments were full of people exclaiming they were happy to know they were normal and others answering Kris’ call to comment with their weirdest intrusive thought.

Kris admitted in the comments that she feels less alone since reading the thousands of comments of people sharing their own thoughts. Check out the video below.

@kallmekris

What are yours?🫢

Last month, Drake announced a concert at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater. The only way to get tickets for the show at the 1,500-cap venue was through Drake’s SiriusXM station, Sound 42, via giveaway. However, in the wake of his new album, Her Loss with 21 Savage, Drake appears to have delayed his Apollo debut — but it’s not all bad news. The show, which was to take place this Friday, has been pushed back to December 6, while a second day, December 7, has been added to meet the understandable and not at all surprising high demand.

While the rollout for Her Loss, which trolled the conventions of a major-label release with fake appearances on media mainstays like NPR Music Tiny Desk and SNL, went off without a hitch, the finished product has generated its fair share of negative headlines after Drake made references to hot button topics like Megan Thee Stallion’s shooting.

Fans also read into some of the album’s lyrics, assuming that he dissed other rappers like Ice Spice and DRAM, as well as his ex Serena Williams’ husband. However, even with all that, it seems unlikely that’ll affect demand for tickets to his show at the Apollo. Perhaps he can use the show as an opportunity to address some of the controversy that has spun out of the release of his latest project.

Ted Cruz is on a getting booed tour of the United States. He was booed while attending a New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros game in the Bronx. He was booed while visiting The View (where he also got called a “climate-denying piece of sh*t” by an activist). And — most hilariously — he was booed in Houston, Texas, during the championship parade for the Astros, who beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

The Houston Chronicle reports that as the Texas senator “made his way through a sea of fans wearing orange and blue, loud boos ensued. In footage from the festivities, Cruz — who wore Astros colors — was shown waving at the crowd, smiling, and giving a thumbs up, despite several fans giving him thumbs down and booing at him in return.”

Based on the videos from the scene, it was more than “several” fans (who were also none too happy to see Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick). “Ted Cruz pulled off what I thought was impossible- getting booed at a championship parade,” tweeted one person who was on the scene, while another added, “Video of @tedcruz receiving robust, loud, and supremely well-deserved boos from the crowd.” He also had a beer chucked at him.

It must be nice for Astros fans to do the booing, not getting booed, for once.

(Via the Houston Chronicle)

Over the weekend, Donald Trump attended a rally in Latrobe, Pa. that was meant to boost Republican candidates Dr. Oz and Ron Mastriano going into Tuesday’s midterm elections. Instead, Trump used the opportunity to crow about his inevitable 2024 presidential run, and more damagingly, attack any Republicans who pose a threat to him in the primaries. On top of rolling out an embarrassingly weak nickname for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump also fired a veiled warning shot at Ted Cruz.

“He didn’t like me for a while but we got to be friends, right? Could’ve put him on the Supreme Court,” Trump said in an obvious allusion to staying on his good side.

The attacks were noticed by the right-leaning Wall Street Journal who called out Trump for threatening Republican chances just a few days before the midterms. The paper also went the extra mile of warning conservative readers what another Trump presidency will include:

Mr. Trump wants to clear the GOP presidential field, and he knows that Mr. DeSantis has emerged in the last two years as his strongest potential opponent. A declaration so soon after the election, if he does declare next week, will also be an attempt to deter a possible Justice Department indictment.

But his focus on his own prospects, and criticizing his fellow Republicans even before a crucial midterm election, is one more reminder that Mr. Trump’s only abiding principle is what’s good for Donald Trump.

Trump’s barb at DeSantis might also prove to be unnecessary. The Florida governor is reportedly mulling not entering the 2024 presidential race, and instead, setting his sights on 2028. (Maybe God told him to wait?) However, that was before Trump began insulting him, and it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen after the midterms when DeSantis no longer has to act like he won’t abandon the governorship to pursue the White House.

(Via Wall Street Journal)

Ryan Reynolds is more than just the actor who plays Deadpool or the guy who bought a soccer team for some reason. He is also close friends with Taylor Swift, which is the most coveted achievement you could ever hope for in Hollywood, probably!

While on this week’s episode of SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, Reynolds spoke about Deadpool and just how exactly he was able to get Hugh Jackman back on board to play Wolverine. But more importantly, he gave us a little bit of insight into what it’s like to be friends with Taylor Swift, which is probably more interesting anyway, right? We all know how he got Wolverine back.

When he was asked about how his family celebrated Swift’s new album, Reynolds said, “That’s like a religion in our house,” the actor said. Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively are expecting their fourth child next year, who will automatically be born into the Taylor Swift fandom.

Reynolds continued, “In fact, I’m not making this up. We are having a Taylor Swift Midnights dance party in, uh, right after this. It’s Sunday. We’re headed straight to the porch where we’re doing a full dance number set to Midnights… swear words included. My favorite thing is when a three-year-old is just throwing down the f-bomb in a song.”

Reynolds then explained what it was like for his daughters to learn that Swift is an actual musician, not just a quirky aunt who breaks out her guitar at family gatherings, or someone who likes to wear a Deadpool costume from time to time. “I think what’s most exciting for them is that for the longest time they just thought Taylor’s just a, you know, like an aunt, like a friend of mommy and daddy that’s very, very close, almost family. And then they went to a concert one day and were like, ‘Oh, oh this isn’t a hobby.’” If a hobby can be shattering streaming records then yes, Taylor Swift’s singing career is a nice hobby.

(Via SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show on YouTube)

(For You)r Consideration is a weekly column breaking down the rappers and singers doing it RIGHT on TikTok and the viral trends and top songs taking over your FYP.

The Girls Love Yacht Rock

The classics of Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, and more should have popped up on your FYP by now. For those unfamiliar, the yacht rock subgenre is a collection of soft rock hits fitting for sailing activities and vibing during everyday life that came to popularity from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. Users on the app appreciate the genre for its light, catchy melodies and easy listening. Under the hashtag #yachtrock, with 2.2 million views, you can see TikTokers living life with hits like “What a Fool Believes” by the Doobie Brothers and find videos with playlists, outfits, and more inspired by the subgenre.

Shirt Is Here

Remember when SZA first teased “Shirt” on Instagram BACK in October 2020? After YEARS and just in time for Scorpio season, the official song was released with a mini film directed by Dave Meyers and co-starring LaKeith Stanfield, and TikTok users are rejoicing. User @icymahree has created content with their infamous hand dance to the eerie Darkchild-produced beat. Between the official audio on TikTok and fan-uploaded sounds, “Shirt” has half a million songs to the sound proving the loyalty of SZA’s audience.

“Heyy,” Lil Baby

Lil Baby’s third studio album is having its viral moment on TikTok. User @nickatnite18 mashed up a clip from Genius of Baby plaining voicing the lyrics to “Heyy” with the official hard-hitting studio version, and TikTokers are getting creative with the audio. Highlighting the difference in Baby’s enthusiasm between the two clips, the sound is the background track to before and after makeup videos, flexing what they aren’t and are looking for in a partner. The mashup is so popular it has more videos to the sound than the original “Heyy” audio.

Babylon has all the makings of a Best Picture nominee. It’s a period piece about Hollywood from an Oscar-winning director starring two A-listers in Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. The last time they worked together, in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pitt won his first Oscar — could Robbie be next? One of her Babylon co-stars thinks so.

Eric Roberts predicted that Robbie, who plays Nellie LaRoy, an actress loosely based on the stars of yesteryear like Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, and Joan Crawford, is “going to win an Academy Award” for Damien Chazelle’s Babylon. “She gives the most incredible performance in Babylon that I have ever seen,” he told the Hollywood Reporter

The Righteous Gemstones actor compared Robbie to Elizabeth Taylor and Sandy Dennis in 1966’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which was nominated for 13 Oscars and won five. “[They] gave perfect performances, and it’s on that level,” he continued. “She blew me away. I couldn’t believe how brilliant every minute of every day she was.

If there’s two things Eric Roberts knows, it’s that: “yes” is the right answer when you’re offered a role, any role, even if it’s promoting erectile dysfunction products; and that Margot Robbie deserves an Oscar. Babylon comes out on December 23.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

As Vladimir Putin‘s invasion of Ukraine continues to be a deadly and embarrassing blunder for Russia, talk of his ouster has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks. The costly endeavor has made Putin’s own allies turn against him as his rivals see an opportunity to permanently remove him from power. On the table is a civil war reportedly being plotted in Poland by anti-Kremlin forces, and the goal is very clear: kill Putin.

Via The Daily Beast:

A guerrilla fight may be the only way to take down Putin, said opposition activist Viacheslav Maltsev. “The main goal is to physically eliminate Putin,” Maltsev said.

“The fight against terrorists requires terrorists’ methods,” one politician present said, according to Gazeta Wyborcza.

In addition to a mounting civil war, reports have been coming in that the Russian elites who make up Putin’s inner circle have turned on him. The Ukraine invasion has been an unmitigated disaster, and the Russian leader has made the worst mistake possible: Threatened the fortunes of oligarchs as aggressive sanctions target the country. It’s a situation that is not going to end well for Putin.

“Nobody’s gonna ask, ‘Hey Vladimir, would you like to leave?’ No. It’s a f*cking hammer to the head and he’s dead. Or it’s time to go to the sanatorium,” former CIA Moscow chief Daniel Hoffman told The Daily Beast. “They schwack him for it. That’s what they’ll do.”

(Via The Daily Beast)

Brockhampton recently announced their highly anticipated final album, The Family, which is scheduled to be released on November 17.

Earlier this year, the Texas music collective announced they would be splitting up, to the dismay of many fans. The group teased their final album during a performance at Coachella this past spring. After the group left the stage, a clip was played where the group was seen discussing the last Brockhampton LP, with the video cutting to a graphic that read: “Final Album. 2022.”

Since the festival performance, the group has unfortunately been on an “indefinite hiatus.”

Luckily for fans, ahead of their forthcoming album, the hip hop collective released their comeback single, “Big P*ssy,” with an accompanying video where frontman Kevin Abstract can be seen driving around New York with the biggest smile waving and greeting fans. The album will be executive-produced by Bearface and Boylife.

Check out the tracklist for the upcoming project below:

1. “Take It Back”
2. “RZA”
3. “Gold Teeth”
4. “Big Pussy”
5. “All That”
6. “Back From The Road”
7. “Good Time”
8. “Basement”
9. “South Side”
10. “Boy Band”
11. “37th”
12. “Anyway You Want Me”
13. “Prayer”
14. “My American Life”
15. “The Family”
16. “The Ending”
17. “Brockhampton”

The Family is out on 11/17 via RCA and Question Everything. Pre-save it here.