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Penny Marshall wanted to make us laugh and cry. Mission accomplished.

I can still hear Penny Marshall's voice echoing from my childhood.

"Aw, come on, Shirl!" I must have been seven or eight when my older brother and I laughed ourselves silly over episodes of Laverne and Shirley. As the hilarious Laverne Defazio, Penny Marshall's Bronx accent and outgoing personality offered me a window to a world outside of my Pacific Northwest upbringing—and I loved her for it. She was raw. She was real. And she was funny.

The consensus from people who knew Penny Marshall in real life is that she was kind and smart and a natural comedienne. Her ex-husband Rob Reiner wrote on Twitter, "She was born with a funnybone and the instinct of how to use it." Clearly.


She was a trailblazer, becoming the first female director to gross $100 million at the box office.

I feel like the somewhat simple character of Laverne did not adequately prepare the world for the behind-the-scenes powerhouse Penny Marshall would become. (I was a kid blurring the lines between actor and character, what can I say.) But her work in the traditionally male-dominated directing world is where she shone in the latter half of her life.

Her directorial debut, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" starring Whoopi Goldberg, was pretty entertaining as I recall. But her next film, "Big" starring the beloved Tom Hanks, knocked it out of the park. Funny and touching, the film hit all the right notes, as evidenced by its record-breaking box office success and iconic scenes that are now staples in pop culture.

"A League of Their Own" is still one of my favorite movies of all time. A film is a product of hundreds of people of course, but there's a reason directors get the kudos. Marshall was brilliant behind the camera, tapping into both our hearts and our funnybones, creating that perfect balance of emotions that makes you want to watch her movies over and over and over again.

She said, "I want you to laugh and cry. That's what I do." Mission accomplished.

Her comedic beginnings often make us think of humor when we think of Penny Marshall, but she was equally adept at tapping our tears. Did you see "Awakenings"? Oof. Like most good comedians, Marshall had a bead on the range of human emotion and it showed in her work. She was a genius at making us laugh and making us cry.

The news of her passing has brought a deluge of praise from those who knew her and worked with her. Check out this initial parade of celebrity tributes on Twitter, starting with her ex-husband, Rob Reiner.

Rest in peace, Penny. Thanks for the laughter and the tears.

The gaze of the approving Boomer.

Over the past few years, Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) have been getting a lot of grief from the generations that came after them, Gen X (1965 to 1980), Millenials (1981 to 1996), and now, Gen Z (1997 to 2012). Their grievances include environmental destruction, wealth hoarding, political polarization, and being judgemental when they don’t understand how hard it is for younger people to make it in America these days.

Every Baby Boomer is different, so it's wrong to paint them all with a broad brush. But it’s undeniable that each generation shares common values, and some are bound to come into conflict.

However, life in 2023 isn’t without its annoyances. Many that came about after the technological revolution put a phone in everyone’s hands and brought a whole new host of problems. Add the younger generations' hands-on approach to child rearing and penchant for outrage, and a lot of moden life has become insufferanble.

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© Jason Moore/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023 and © Tzahi Finkelstein /Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

The 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, known for being one of the most entertaining photography contests, has just wrapped up, and this year’s top prize goes to Jason Moore for his hilarious and brilliantly captured photo of a kangaroo, cheekily named “Air Guitar Roo.” Not only did this fantastic shot win the overall competition, but it also rocked the Creatures of the Land category, too.

Jason's photo stood out among a whopping 5,300 entries submitted by 1,842 photographers from 85 countries. Moore’s photo of the female western grey kangaroo was taken in the outer suburbs of Perth, Australia when Jason visited a field of wildflowers to snap some pics of the many adult kangaroos and joeys playing there.

“The shoot turned out to be a great session, and I am quite fond of several images that I captured,” Moore said in a statement. “Not many people know that kangaroos are normally fairly docile and even a bit boring most of the time if I’m honest. However, when I saw this roo striking the air guitar pose, it immediately brought a smile to my face, and I knew that I had captured something really special."

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True

After over a thousand years of peaceful relations, European semi-superpowers Sweden and Switzerland may finally address a lingering issue between the two nations. But the problem isn’t either country’s fault. The point is that the rest of the world can’t tell them apart. They simply don’t know their kroppkakor (Swedish potato dumpling) from their birchermüesli (a Swiss breakfast dish).

This confusion on the European continent has played out in countless ways.

Swedish people who move to the United States often complain of being introduced as Swiss. The New York Stock Exchange has fallen victim to the confusion, and a French hockey team once greeted their Swiss opponents, SC Bern, by playing the Swedish National Anthem and raising the Swedish flag.

Skämtar du med mig? (“Are you kidding me?” in Swedish)

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Pop Culture

Trevor Noah laments the loss of 'spirited conversations' and creates a space for having them

"Imagine if discussing how to navigate the minefield was as dangerous as the minefield itself. That's what I feel like we're living in now," Noah says.

Trevor Noah launches his "What Now? with Trevor Noah" podcast.

If there's one thing Trevor Noah excels at (besides stand-up comedy), it's talking about hot topics. When Trevor Noah was hosting "The Daily Show," his "Between the Scenes" segments where he chatted with his live audience during breaks often went viral. In these clips, Noah would find ways of speaking about controversial issues in a way that was clear, concise, thoughtful and wise.

With his new podcast "What Now? with Trevor Noah," he's taking those conversations even further.

A video of Noah explaining the premise behind the podcast shared by Carrick Ryan gives voice to what so many people are feeling about social discourse in the modern age.

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@jennifergarner/TikTok

This video is nuts.

Usually when celebrities do a video revealing what’s in their bag, you can almost guarantee that there will be zero traces of any half eaten candy bars, wads of crumpled receipts and other junk items most people carry around everyday.

Instead, viewers can expect a rather aspirational fare—luxury skin products (that said celebrity is a brand ambassador for, no doubt)…top-of-the-line health foods…at least one New York Times Bestseller.

But not Jennifer Garner. No no no. When Jennifer Garner does a purse contents reveal, you can expect something messy, hilarious and oh-so relatable.
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Pop Culture

Heroic sanitation workers save abducted, 10-year-old girl while on their trash route

"I was just doing my job man. I was just doing my job and actually came across somebody who needed help."

via Dion Merrick / Facebook

At 1:30 am on a Monday morning in February, an AMBER Alert went out in southern Louisiana about a missing 10-year-old girl from New Iberia. It was believed she had been kidnapped and driven away in a 2012 silver Nissan Altima.

A few hours later at 7 am, Dion Merrick and Brandon Antoine, sanitation workers for Pelican Waste, were on their daily route when they noticed a vehicle that fit the description in the alert.

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