Cody C. Platt, Author at Adoption Links

Plex launches a co-watching experience for its on-demand library and users’ personal media

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Don Lemon remains in stitches over Chris Cuomo’s new haircut

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Discover what’s occurring in the world as it unfolds.
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Nail-biting video shows bear following boy during a family hike

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Ahmaud Arbery eliminating being investigated as federal hate criminal offense, family lawyer states

(CNN) S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the family of Ahmaud Arbery, informed CNN on Monday that the US Department of Justice is examining the shooting death as a hate criminal offense.
Merritt stated he learned a.
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‘My mom passed away as she lived

Howard Jacobson's parents on their wedding day — Image caption

Howard Jacobson’s parents on their wedding.

The writer Howard Jacobson remembers his mom, who died this month, as if she chose to slip away while everyone concentrated on the pandemic.

My mother died on 4 May. Not of Covid-19 2 days in the past, she grumbled to my sibling of a serious pain in her head, slipped into unconsciousness, and never ever woke. She was97 She died in the chair she chose to her bed. And passed away practically as she had actually lived, unobtrusively, not wanting to make a fuss, not wanting to be a trouble to anyone.

She was retiring by nature. Exclamatory – she understood how to inform a great story and was never less than flabbergasted by unimportant occasion – but not demonstrative.

She disliked show, never ever wished to be seen complaining – in fact, never wanted to be seen at all – preferred reading to going out, and at any time in her life would not have actually minded had she been informed she ‘d never ever go to another silver wedding, golden wedding event or barmitzvah, another Market Traders’ Dance, another Manchester and Salford Cab Driver’ Ball, another Lancashire and Cheshire Branch of the Magic Circle Annual Supper, ever again.

In this she could not have actually been more unlike my father – the marketplace trader, cab driver and magician to indulge whose gigantic social appetite she zipped herself hesitantly into among those cocktail gowns she hated having to obtain from her wardrobe, for fear of finding it too tight, too loose, too low, or too expensive, though he, having actually worked as a tailor in the army, was constantly delighted to make any alteration so long as he might get her to come out with him.

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Jacobson

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Howard Jacobson’s moms and dads, Anita and Max, on a night out in1964

He too passed away as he lived, with razzamatazz.

He treated his death as his swan-song, his last ever variety performance, strictly for one night just. In truth it went on for longer than that, partly on account of the relationship he delighted in with the nurses in his hospital ward to whom he enjoyed revealing his techniques, even those that routinely misfired.

On what we thought would be his final day his favourite nurse asked him to reveal her the technique with the glass, the playing card, and the engagement ring – on this celebration hers. This was among his regularly misfiring techniques, but today, wonder of miracles, he performed it with such adroitness and eclat that he couldn’t think about any factor not to go on living.

So what was implied to be a program in one act all of a sudden had a period and a 2nd half – the Resurrection – which he dipped into house for a more three weeks, to a smaller sized audience, it held true, but a cherished one. For an encore, worn out by his own vigor, he closed his eyes.

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Jacobson

I don’t believe my parents turned into who they were in contradistinction to each other – she quiet due to the fact that he noisy and vice versa. It was my impression that they discovered and enjoyed each other as they were and as they would go on being – as unlike as two mortal souls could be.

If I wanted to please my dad I could do no much better than make my mom laugh. It overwhelmed him to see tears of amusement spring out from behind her glasses and roll in gushes down her cheeks. It was as though they originated from some secret location of sensation he might never want to penetrate.

His own laughter was Falstaffian. Which, for her, opened a door on an over-the-top world of boisterousness. His antecedents were Russian, my mother’s Lithuanian. She ‘d have studied music and philosophy had her grandparents remained in Lithuania. He ‘d have wrestled bears.

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Jacobson

Image caption

Howard Jacobson’s daddy.

Every talent has its disadvantage. I recognise this in myself and try to listen when individuals inform me theirs.

My mom listened hard and felt our adversities as though they were her own, however mothers who fret overmuch for their children as often as not cause those kids more stress than they spare them. I went to bed in distress when I was small, persuaded I would find her dead with concern in the early morning.

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Jacobson

Image caption

Howard Jacobson with his mom.

Extraordinary that she lived to 97, and in her final weeks implicated me of being a worrier.

” That’s rich coming from you, Ma,” I stated, advising her of all the preventative measures she ‘d taught me to take over the years against finding myself in the Great Australian Desert without toilet paper, or up a five sounded step-ladder without a harness.

Listen to Howard Jacobson remembering his mom on BBC Sounds

More from A Point of View on BBC Radio 4

My bro as soon as informed her he had actually simply moved into a little flat in Notting Hill, sharing with six ladies who were nurses and art students.

The phone burned with humiliation in his hand.

She warned me against ladies too, though more subtly than this, in the type of poems that told of female derangement, such as the Woman of Shalott going round the bend in her tower, or the Forsaken Merman’s better half who just upped and left him when she heard the church bells ring.

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Jacobson

One poem my mom got me to check out, and I don’t remember its author, told of a son seduced by a female so vicious that she asked the young male to show his love for her by cutting out his mother’s heart and bringing it to her in a casket.

No pressure there, then, as people didn’t say in those days.

My mother always said she didn’t desire any difficulty when she went.

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Nathan Romburgh

When a health emergency prompted Nathan Romburgh and his sisters to look into their family history, decades after completion of apartheid, they revealed a closely protected trick that made them question their own identity.

Separated at birth: Was my mom distributed due to the fact that she looked white?

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Fred Willard, who brought his comic presents to ‘Modern Family,’ is dead at 86

Image: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCM.

By Adam Rosenberg2020-05-1620: 03: 12 UTC

Legendary star, writer, and comic Fred Willard died on Friday at the age of 86.

He may be best known to 2020 audiences for his role on Modern Household, where he played Phil’s dad Frank. But Willard has a long history in Hollywood, including a lengthy and creatively productive relationship with mockumentary master Christopher Guest.

Willard’s profession started in the New York City funny scene of the 1950 s, where he initially went far for himself as one half of a comedy duo along with Vic Grecco. He later on carried out with Second City in Chicago and co-founded the improv funny performers, Ace Trucking Company, which logged numerous appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson

Willard’s profile had only grown by the end of the ’70 s, when a role on the funny series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman landed him a starring role (along with Martin Mull) on the spin-off Fernwood 2 Night, and a couple others that followed.

All of which is to say that Willard was already a widely known name amongst funny lovers by the time he made his very first huge splash in the Rob Reiner-directed mockumentary This is Back Tap, which was co-written by Guest. He then went on to appear in Visitor’s biggest subsequent hits, consisting of the pet dog reveal farce Best in Program; the folk music riff on Spine Tap, A Mighty Wind; and the homemade regional theater send-up, Waiting for Guffman(to name a few).

He had roles in the very first Austin Powers, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, and Anchorman On TELEVISION, his credits include appearances on The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley, Married … With Kid, Household Matters, Roseanne, Murphy Brown, Mad About You, The Simpsons, and Modern Family(among lots of others).

Willard kept working right up to the end. He will next appear in a recurring function on Netflix’s upcoming series Space Force, from Steve Carell and Greg Daniels (of The Workplace and Parks and Leisure fame).

A large neighborhood of friends, fans, and coworkers stepped up quickly to commemorate Willard on social media in the hours after his death, credited to natural causes, was confirmed

How fortunate that all of us got to take pleasure in Fred Willard’s presents. He is with his missed out on Mary now. Thanks for the deep belly laughs Mr. Willard. Best in Program (7/11) Motion Picture CLIP – Judging the Hounds (2000) HD https://t.co/wPrbk9VjWI through @YouTube

— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) May 16, 2020

Fred Willard was the funniest individual that I’ve ever worked with. He was a sweet, fantastic male.

— Steve Carell (@SteveCarell) May 16, 2020

Just discovered of Fred Willard’s death.

— Harry Shearer (@theharryshearer) May 16, 2020

I’m at a loss for words, a state Fred Willard never ever found himself in.

— Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) May 16, 2020

Gutted. His enormous skill and compassion will never be forgotten. We love you Fred Willard. Thank you for the decades of laughter.

— christina applegate (@ 1capplegate) May 16, 2020

One of my favorite lines in a motion picture ever was delivered by Fred Willard in BEST IN SHOW, after a naughty pet went after the judge: “He went after her like she was made from ham.” This man was so fantastic and he elevated the flicks and TV programs in which he popped up. RIP, Funny Man! https://t.co/jEmDS0T9n8

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) May 16, 2020

RIP Fred Willard. you were matchless

— Henry Winkler (@hwinkler4real) May 16, 2020

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The ‘Dad, How Do I?’ Guy Answers Your Basic Life Questions

There’s a joke in my family about the time when I—all of 19 or 20 years old and living in an apartment with my own kitchen for the first time—emailed my dad to ask him, “What’s a marinade?” To this day, I also still have a copy of the very kind, very detailed instructions he sent me for how to make mashed potatoes.

“If they appear too stiff (like paste), add a touch of milk,” he wrote to me. “By that, I mean no more than a couple of capfuls—just enough to get it wet. Add any additional milk sparingly, because once it’s in there, you can’t take it out, and you don’t want runny potatoes.”

This is an important part of parenting that can often be overlooked—we need our parents to raise us to be able to go out on our own and function in the world, but once we leave home to do just that, we realize there are loads of little skills we still need to learn. What do you do when your faucet leaks or your car battery dies or you have to hand-wash a shirt for the first time? If you’re lucky, like me, you call your mom or dad. But if that’s not an option, the “Dad, how do I?” guy is trying to help fill the gap.

Rob Kenney told Shattered Magazine that his own father abandoned him decades ago when he was a teenager. He started his “Dad, how do I?” YouTube channel in April as a way to help and support young adults whose parents are absent from their lives:

“My goal in my life was to raise good adults,” Rob said. “I never wanted to be wealthy. I never wanted to be necessarily successful. My goal in life was to raise good adults—not good children but good adults—because I had a fractured childhood.”

Once he accomplished that goal in his 50s, Rob realized he still possessed a lot of wisdom, learning and insight—useful tools for the younger generation. Rob always wanted to make a series of videos detailing important lessons not taught in high school—lessons like ironing a shirt.

Kenney has posted about a dozen short video tutorials so far, on topics ranging from personal hygiene to minor car and home repairs. Here are some of my favorites:

Kenney also likes to throw in a good dad joke on occasion, such as during the “how to use a stud finder” video, which he opens with this line: “Okay, so today, I’m going to show you how to use a stud-finder. If you came here looking for help finding a boyfriend, that would be a different ‘stud-finder.’” An excellent dad joke, that.

He is also disarmingly genuine, which is likely why the comments under each video are filled with touching stories of appreciation from viewers who lost their own parents at a young age—or are estranged from them—and were never taught some of the basic skills Kenney is trying to impart. One commenter described him as “the Mr. Rogers for adults that we didn’t even know we needed.”

Kenney releases a new “How To” video every Thursday and has announced he’ll soon start a “Tool Tuesday” segment, in which he’ll highlight different tools and their uses.

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Boy, 12, followed down mountain by brown bear

Dramatic footage shows a boy walking calmly down a mountain, followed by a brown bear.

Alessandro, 12, was hiking with his family in Trentino in northern Italy when they noticed the bear, which rose onto its hind legs at several points.

Develop Faster Way Buttons With Google’s ‘Action Blocks’ Android App

Illustration for article titled Create Shortcut Buttons With Googles Action Blocks Android App — Image: Shutterstock

All of us utilize our phones for a ton of regular jobs that require a few actions to execute. If you’re going to video chat a family member you may have to find the video app on your phone, tap to open it, then scroll through your contact list to find the person you want to talk to.

For the majority of us that can all occur pretty quickly, however for individuals with cognitive impairments or an age-related cognitive condition, keeping in mind all those steps– even simply three of them– can be a little an obstacle. And for those with minimal mobility, carrying out 3 touchscreen presses essentially indicates a procedure that’s 3 times as difficult.

This week Google < a data-ga ="[["Embedded Url","External link","https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.accessibility.maui.actionblocks&hl=en_US",{"metric25":1}]] href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.accessibility.maui.actionblocks&hl=en_US" rel =" noopener noreferrer" target =" _ blank" > launched Action Blocks for Android to assist simplify easy jobs for those who require it. With the Google-made app, Android users can create personalized home screen buttons to release a specific activity of their picking.

When set up, those faster ways will be able to handle all 3 steps of that video chat formula discussed above, or anything else– making performing everyday jobs easier for those who may have problem with the standard procedure.

Buttons can be developed for any action that Google Assistant can typically perform. That indicates it works for things like taking a selfie, sending out a text, putting a video call or perhaps managing clever home devices like a connected thermostat.

Gif: Google

The app itself is simple to comprehend and has shortcuts on the very first page to assist you efficiently established buttons for typical actions. For more complicated procedures, “Develop custom-made action” will assist you establish a button to make it occur; onscreen guidelines can assist you establish practically any faster way you want in seconds.

It’s worth noting that given that Google Assistant can manage all the same things, it may be worth teaching the individual whose phone you’re including these buttons to how to use that. That stated, Action Blocks can be an effective tool to make common tasks easier for anybody who needs a bit of extra aid.

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Family of exiled leading Saudi officer Saad al-Jabri ‘targeted’

Image caption

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is considered the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia.

Who is Saad al-Jabri?

For many years he was the right-hand male, the gatekeeper, to Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who was commonly credited with defeating the al-Qaeda insurgency in the 2000 s. He was also the linchpin in all Saudi Arabia’s relations with the “Five Eyes” (United States, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) intelligence firms.

In 2010 this important link “conserved hundreds of lives”, according to a former Western intelligence officer who dealt with him.

Al-Qaeda in Yemen had smuggled an effective bomb on-board a freight plane bound for Chicago, hidden inside a printer ink toner cartridge. But Saudi intelligence had a human informant inside al-Qaida who offered the tip-off to MI6, even relaying the serial number of the gadget it was concealed in.

British counter-terrorism police then situated and pacified the bomb inside the plane at East Midlands Airport. “If that had actually gone off as planned over Chicago hundreds would have been eliminated,” stated the previous intelligence officer.

” Dr al-Jabri changed Saudi counter-terrorism efforts,” says another previous western intelligence authorities.

” He changed it from being a crude, violent, confession-based system into one that used contemporary forensics and computer-based data mining.

“He was the smartest guy we dealt with amongst so many others who were dysfunctional,” he says.

Image copyright
Bandar al-Galoud

Image caption

Saad al-Jabri (circled around) was welcomed already UK Home Secretary Theresa May (best) during a see to London in2015

A quiet-spoken guy with a doctorate in artificial intelligence from Edinburgh University, Dr al-Jabri rose to the rank of cabinet minister and held a major-general’s rank in the interior ministry.

However in 2015 everything changed. King Abdullah died and his half-brother Salman ascended to the throne, appointing his young and untested child Mohammed Bin Salman (called MBS) as defence minister.

MBS then purchased his nation’s forces to intervene in Yemen’s civil war, a move opposed by Dr al-Jabri who mentioned that there was no exit method. More than 5 years later Saudi Arabia is still looking for an escape of the pricey stalemate in Yemen.

In 2017 MBS carried out a bloodless palace coup with his daddy’s true blessing He efficiently took over the next in line to the throne, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, ending up being crown prince himself.

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Al-Jabri family

Image caption

Sarah al-Jabri is also being held incommunicado.

” He can’t afford to have that guy as a free radical and a galvanising force versus him,” states one of them.

His household state they have actually attempted in vain to satisfy the Saudi authorities “on neutral ground” and have actually now decided to go public.

” There are signs that Dr Saad is being targeted with a large range of threats and the (Canadian) authorities are taking it seriously,” states his boy Khalid.

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Plex launches a co-watching experience for its on-demand library and users’ personal media

Don Lemon remains in stitches over Chris Cuomo’s new haircut

Nail-biting video shows bear following boy during a family hike

Ahmaud Arbery eliminating being investigated as federal hate criminal offense, family lawyer states

‘My mom passed away as she lived

Fred Willard, who brought his comic presents to ‘Modern Family,’ is dead at 86

The ‘Dad, How Do I?’ Guy Answers Your Basic Life Questions

Boy, 12, followed down mountain by brown bear

Develop Faster Way Buttons With Google’s ‘Action Blocks’ Android App

Family of exiled leading Saudi officer Saad al-Jabri ‘targeted’

Who is Saad al-Jabri?

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