Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Neighbors pool their resources to help a single mom with quintuplets

When the children’s hospital called Aileen’s pediatric occupational therapy clinic in July of 2020, the clinic was closed due to pandemic lockdowns. The hospital informed her that a set of quintuplet baby brothers had been born in November of 2019 and would be in need of her services once they were released. Would she be able to help?

Aileen often gets direct referrals from the hospital for families with special conditions, and premature quintuplets who spent their first year of life receiving oxygen and feeding through tubes certainly fit that bill. She decided to open her clinic specifically for the babies and their mother, Jackie. As the babies were released, they came to Aileen for ongoing occupational therapy, and by November 2020, all five boys were being cared for at the clinic.

The quintuplets stayed in the NICU for nearly a year after they were born.Courtesy of Nextdoor

Jackie is a single mom who moved to the U.S. from Ghana a couple of years ago. She lives with her mom and aunt in the Atlanta area and also has another son, Daniel, who was 3 years old when the boys came home from the hospital. With a preschooler and five babies needing medical care, Jackie definitely needed more help than her family and church could provide, but she was too shy to ask for it. Eventually, she confided in Aileen that she could use help with diapers. Even with one baby, diapers are expensive; keeping up with five at once would be overwhelming.

Aileen contacted local aid organizations who normally have diapers to offer, but they were all in short supply due to the pandemic. So she decided to reach out to her neighbors instead.


In January, Aileen posted on the Nextdoor app asking locals for recommendations for diaper resources. Though she didn’t ask for donations, 15 people sent her messages offering to donate diapers. Neighbors also recommended that Aileen start a GoFundMe and an Amazon baby registry for Jackie so people could assist her and the boys with more than just diapers.

Aileen did just that. And when she shared the links on Nextdoor, her neighbors showed up in a big way, sending messages of support (which Aileen would share with Jackie), donating money and buying items through the registry. Many families with multiples asked how they could help out.

The quintuplets on their first birthday.

One woman saw the post and shared the family’s needs with four of her friends. They each assigned themselves to one of the boys to help out and ended up collecting two entire truckloads of items—40 boxes of diapers, clothing, chairs, and more for the family. The woman has kept in touch with Jackie and hopes her group of friends can stay connected with the boys as they grow up.

In all, people donated $6,000 to the GoFundMe on top of countless donations of items.

The quintuplets will be 2 in November and are doing very well. In August, Aileen shared an update on the boys with her Nextdoor neighbors.

She wrote:

“Back in January, I posted about the quintuplet boys in Lawrenceville and was just amazed to witness the kindness this community has shown to this family. Mommy Jackie shared with me these pics to keep you posted on their progress. I hope it will make your day and remind you how we are blessed to have so many wonderful neighbors.

Jayden, Jayson, Jordan, Jeffery, and Jared are now 1 year and 9 months old. The boys are thriving! All boys are receiving OT, PT, and speech therapy at our clinic. 3 of the 5 are now walking (running, actually) 2 are crawling and starting to cruise. All the boys are eating although 3 are still on tube feeds. They are also getting stronger and almost all are weaned from oxygen. They have their own personalities and making huge gains in therapy. We’re hoping and praying that they will all be walking, eating, and breathing on their own before their 2nd birthday!”

Aileen says that Nextdoor became “an avenue for blessings” and that she sees it as her connection to people.

“I still get goosebumps of how that one post sparked all of this,” she says. “I became a witness to just how good people are. We only hear negative news, but there are so many positive things happening.”

In honor of Neighbor Month, Nextdoor is celebrating the people and places nearby that make our neighborhoods wonderful. Share a story about why you #LoveYourNeighborhood on your @Nextdoor newsfeed for a chance to be featured for Neighbor Month.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Chloe Bailey Puts A Classical Twist On Her ‘Have Mercy’ Performance For ‘Fallon’

You’ve probably heard the phrase “from ashy to classy.” Last night on The Tonight Show, emerging pop-R&B superstar Chloe Bailey went “from classy to ass-cheeks” with her performance of the big booty anthem, “Have Mercy.” Backed by a string orchestra, the multitalented singer presented the trap-leaning jam as a classical sonata at first, draped in a flowing white gown with a fuzzy top. But then, she yanked off the gown’s train, showing off the sultry single’s subject, and strutted over to her drum machine, where she rebuilt the signature “Have Mercy” beat from the pre-loaded samples.

From there, she put on a virtuoso display of both vocals and her other — ahem — assets as the strings embellished the thumping drums and New Orleans bounce samples that make up the seductive solo song. As it was network television, Chloe didn’t get too frisky, but the suggestive turns and dips she did were just enough to elicit some enthusiastic responses from the crowd.

Since debuting “Have Mercy” last month, Chloe has performed the song at the MTV VMAs and seen it covered by Prairie View A&M University’s marching band, marking its growing popularity. The singer said her solo debut album is “90 percent done,” so it’s likely we’ll be hearing more from her in the near future.

Watch Chloe’s classical performance of “Have Mercy” on The Tonight Show above.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Adele Finally Confirms The Release Date Of Her New Album, ’30’

Earlier this month, there were signs — literal signs, in the case of the billboards — that Adele’s new album, titled 30, is coming soon. That info was unconfirmed at the time, but now, we know for sure: Today, Adele announced that her next album is indeed called 30 and that it’s set for release on November 19.

Adele made the announcement with a lengthy message about the album, which she shared on social media. It begins, “I was certainly nowhere near where I’d hoped to be when I first started it nearly 3 years ago. Quite the opposite actually. I rely on routine and consistency to feel safe, I always have. And yet there I was knowingly — willingly even, throwing myself into a maze of absolute mess and inner turmoil!”

She goes on to describe how 30 was like a close friend to her “throughout the most turbulent period” of her life. She ends the message, “I’ve painstakingly rebuilt my house and my heart since then and this album narrates it. Home is where the heart is x.”

It won’t be long until fans get their first taste of the album, as Adele’s next single, “Easy On Me,” is set to drop this Friday, October 15.

Find Adele’s full message below.

“30

I was certainly nowhere near where I’d hoped to be when I first started it nearly 3 years ago. Quite the opposite actually. I rely on routine and consistency to feel safe, I always have. And yet there I was knowingly — willingly even, throwing myself into a maze of absolute mess and inner turmoil!

I’ve learned a lot of blistering home truths about myself along the way. I’ve shed many layers but also wrapped myself in new ones. Discovered genuinely useful and wholesome mentalities to lead with, and I feel like I’ve finally found my feeling again. I’d go as far as to say that toe never felt more peaceful in my life.

And so, I’m ready to finally put this album out.

It was my ride or die throughout the most turbulent period of my life. When I was writing it, it was my friend who came over with a bottle of wine and a takeaway to cheer me up. My wise friend who always gives the best advice. Not to forget the one who’s wild and says ‘Its your Saturn return babes f*ck it, you only live once’. The friend who’d stay up all night and just hold my hand while I’d sob relentlessly not knowing why. The get up and go friend who would pick me up and take me somewhere I said I didn’t want to go but just wanted to get me out the house for some vitamin D. That friend who snuck in and left a magazine with a face mask and some bath salts to make me feel loved while inadvertently reminding me not only what month it actually was but that I should probably exercise some self-care!

And then that friend who no matter what, checked in on me even though I’d stopped checking in with them because I’d become so consumed by my own grief. I’ve painstakingly rebuilt my house and my heart since then and this album narrates it.

Home is where the heart is x.”

30 is out 11/19 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

‘I May Look Like That Guy, But I’m Not That Guy’: Dave Bautista Opens Up About Being More Than Just His Appearance

With the premiere of Dune fast approaching, Dave Bautista is making the interview rounds and the former wrestler has been opening up about his desire to be a big actor in Hollywood, but not the way you think. Dune will mark Bautista’s second collaboration with director Denis Villeneuve after appearing in Blade Runner 2049, where he flipped the script on being the muscle-bound heavy with a quiet, soulful performance. Until it wasn’t.

While sitting down with Men’s Health, Bautista revealed some early mistakes in his career, like blowing through cash as quickly as he earned it.

“I wasted all that money,” Bautista said. “And I could’ve done a lot of good things with that money. I could’ve helped people; I could’ve helped animals. But honestly, I was miserable and I was just trying to buy happiness.”

Fortunately, his career continued to grow, and with it, the opportunity to continue to distance himself from other “wrestlers-turned-actors” like John Cena and The Rock, a topic Bautista has grown increasingly vocal about. Via Men’s Health:

“I realize what I look like. I joke and say I look like I got out of prison yesterday. But I do. I’m very aware of that. So that’s why I’ll take an extra minute with somebody to show them I’m just not that guy. I may look like that guy, but I’m not that guy.”

When he finishes work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Bautista has made it clear that his time with the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be over, and from the sound of things, the actor is dead set on not being trapped in action roles like Cena and The Rock. Instead, Bautista wants to make thoughtful, subtle appearances that show his range.

“I want to be that guy that makes people cry, who makes people think, who inspires people,” he told JoBlo back in April. “I want to be a dramatic actor. I just love it. I love acting.”

(Via Men’s Health)

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Brian Cox Wore A ‘F*ck Off’ And ‘Team Logan Roy’ Mask To The ‘Succession’ Season 3 Premiere

For better or worse, the TV catchphrase is a lost art. Take a look at the Wikipedia page for “list of catchphrases in American television.” There are only three examples from the last 15 years: Coach Taylor’s “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” from Friday Night Lights, “bazinga” from The Big Bang Theory (it’s the war cry of Sheldon), and “wubba lubba dub dub” from Rick and Morty, which is making fun of forced catchphrases.

It’s time to add a new entry to the list: “f*ck off.”

Logan Roy, as played by the great Brian Cox, says it roughly 75 times over the first two seasons of Succession, which returns after a pandemic-caused delay this Sunday. The season three premiere was held in New York City on Tuesday, and to celebrate the return of TV’s most toxic family, Cox and his wife, Nicole Ansari-Cox, wore matching “f*ck off” and “#Team Logan Roy” masks. The next time you see an anti-vaxxer or someone who refuses to wear a mask, remember the immortal words of Logan: “f*ck off.”

Cox told Variety that Succession fans ask him to say his catchphrase “more often than you could imagine.” He added, “I’ve started to swear more than I’ve ever sworn before in my entire life… I have a favorite curse word, but I can’t say that on air.”

Save it for season four.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Geraldo Rivera Has Had Enough Of Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy Gaining ‘Sexual Pleasure From The Chaos’ Of Airport Cancellations

Geraldo Rivera’s completely unafraid to go up against his Fox News colleagues’ ultra-conservative views when he sees fit. That’s especially the case when he’s going up against far-right cheerleader Tucker Carlson on vaccinations and immigration. Tucker is, of course, the guy who shoots back immature responses on serious issues, but Geraldo showed that he, too, was willing to toss out some juvenile language in a different context. Did it work? Well, sort of, but since Geraldo was sparring with Jesse Watters, maturity can be considered relative.

On the Tuesday edition of The Five, the two co-hosts clashed on the subject of rampant Southwest Airlines cancellations (thousands of them) that have brought airports to a partial standstill for several days. There are rumors (denied by the company, which is blaming staffing issues) that pilots and crew members did a coordinated walkout to protest mandated vaccines. And many prominent Republicans, like Ted Cruz, took the rumors as fact and ran with them while trashing Biden (and any companies who are participating in vaccine mandates, which are now a federal requirement in companies with over 100 employees) in a celebratory manner.

That attitude is shared by GOP Rep. Chip Roy out of Texas, who told Southwest to “eat it” on Twitter while declaring, “This makes me happier than I can possibly articulate.” Roy also suggested that Southwest pay out any bailout dollars from the pandemic stimulus.

Geraldo has had it with the celebrations. Via Mediaite, Geraldo went off on Roy (while Watters disagreed): “This is a guy getting almost sexual pleasure from the chaos and the destruction!”

He also slammed the pilots as “screwing” Southwest customers, who are caught in the middle of this whole mess. He’s not wrong.

(Via Mediaite)

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Olivia Rodrigo Explains How Starting As A Child Actor Was Good For Her Songwriting

Rolling Stone is in the midst of its “Musicians On Musicians” series, where they pair two artists for a conversation with each other. They ran one with Madonna and Maluma yesterday, and today, it’s Olivia Rodrigo and Alanis Morissette’s turn.

In the piece, Rodrigo notes that both she and Morissette both started their creative careers as child actors before asking, “Do you think that acting helped you be more in touch with your emotions in songwriting? In a certain way, that’s how I felt with it.” Morissette then turned the question back on Rodrigo, who said, “I think it helped me be able to tap into certain emotions like that. I remember actually going to my first acting lesson when I was 11 years old and crying in this scene and feeling this sense of catharsis and being like, ‘Oh, this is like therapy.’ I think that translates into music as well. I wrote a couple songs on my record literally crying at my piano.”

Rodrigo went on to speak about how she thought that her unconventional childhood would make it harder for her songs to be relatable to the average person:

“I think heartbreak is so universal — the feeling that lots of humans feel the most deeply. I’ve never felt as deep a sadness as I did when I was truly, truly heartbroken and devastated. Putting ‘Drivers License’ out was such a unique experience because I’ve lived this sort of weird life. I grew up on set and didn’t go to school like everyone else did. I was like, ‘Are my songs going to be relatable?’

And when I put out ‘Drivers License,’ about this really hard time in my life, I watched it just affect so many people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender or age. There would be 40-year-old guys that would come up to me and be like, ‘Wow, that really struck me.’ Even if they weren’t going through a situation like that, they were like, ‘Oh, it takes me right back to when I was in high school and I went through my first heartbreak.’ That was so magical for me, to not only see how universal that feeling was, but also how magical music can be and it can take you back to a specific point in time. You can hear everything and taste everything and smell everything, and that’s so unique to music.”

Check out the full interview here.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Kumail Nanjiani — And His Wife, Emily Gordon — Were Bothered By All The Jokes About His Looks On ‘Silicon Valley’

These days, it’s hard not to hear about Kumail Nanjiani without hearing the word “ripped” or some equivalent of it in the same sentence. In December 2019, the star of Marvel’s upcoming Eternals created a loud and thirsty social media firestorm when he posted a photo of the transformation he underwent for the superhero role. While Nanjiani’s guns have been talked about ever since, it’s not the first time the Oscar nominee’s physical appearance has been a topic of conversation—though not always in a good way.

Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon, who co-wrote the semi-autobiographical 2017 rom-com The Big Sick, which earned them both an Oscar nomination, recently sat down with Vulture to discuss the attention being paid to Nanjiani’s six-pack, with the actor admitting that it’s not necessarily a good thing.

“It’s very easy to get obsessed with that number on the scale,” Nanjiani said. “It’s a tough thing. It’s deceiving. You become obsessed with it. I certainly have, and for me, it’s not great to weigh myself every day.”

The conversation then segued into a very different type of attention Nanjiani has gotten for his looks—in this case, going back to Silicon Valley and how many jokes were made at the expense of Nanjiani’s character Dinesh Chugtai being considered ugly (well, when he wasn’t being “Pakistani Denzel”). While Gordon was pretty forthright in sharing that “I did not like that you were considered unattractive on the show. That really f*cking bothered me,” Nanjiani seemed to put some of the blame on himself:

“[T]here were entire story lines around [Dinesh’s looks]. That stuff does get to you, where you’re like, aww … that’s not a great feeling. I love everyone on the show, and I never voiced this concern. Maybe I should have. Other actors did when they had stuff that they didn’t enjoy doing. I understand that story line ended up being funny. But yeah, parts of that didn’t feel great.”

Gordon shared that, “Even my mom would call me and be like, ‘Why are they saying that about him? I don’t understand.’ But yeah, it bugged me. I didn’t like it.”

“Generally speaking, a big part of the ascribing of things that happens is sometimes it puts a filter on the world, and brown Asian men are completely desexualized,” Nanjiani concluded. “Because they’re not threatening. It’s like, Oh, it thinks it’s hot. That kind of thing. I don’t hold it against any of the actors who’ve had to do that stuff, because getting jobs is really hard. It shouldn’t be the job of any one person to upend an entire culture.”

(Via Vulture)

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Netflix’s ‘You’ Has Turned Into ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ But With Serial Killers (And It’s Still A Blast)

You, the little thriller show that went unnoticed on Lifetime, resurfaced on Netflix, and became a huge hit, is back. And I gotta admit to feeling skeptical about whether a third season could roll as well as the first two. After all, Penn Badgley’s Stalker Joe is the result of a bold gimmick, which feels hard as hell to sustain (while also balancing the message, including from Badgley himself, that Joe’s a reprehensible guy). His very existence is a performance, and he thinks nothing of swapping out identities, but realistically speaking, how long can this continue before someone (with standing) turns his butt in to the authorities or at least puts him in check? Exactly. The second season barely contained its own crazy (while careening off a cliff). Near the end of that sophomore round, Joe found himself keeping his existing name (he’s “Will” in California), but he does take on another identity: that of husband and soon-to-be father.

Yep, Joe is put in check, so what’s the next challenge? Maintaining momentum.

This is where I’m about to draw an extremely out-of-context analogy. Back in 2007, the great (and golf-obsessed) Bill Murray sat down with Esquire for a wide-ranging interview. Amid observations about the tastiness of Cinnabon and the stages of his own career, he remarked upon how it was so much easier to pound out back-to-back movies before becoming a husband and dad, and he observed the same in Tiger Woods. “As long as he didn’t have a girlfriend,” the undeniable legend declared. “[H]e was unquestionably the greatest golfer in the world. And people, myself included, said, ‘Well, wait’ll he finds a girl. He’ll find that his time’s gonna be different. His life is gonna get more complicated.’ And it did for him, and it does for everyone.”

Now, I am not at all saying that golfing or acting is like stalking/serial killing. However, all of these things can be obsessions, so the same principle can arguably apply. Obviously, we’re talking about a hefty obsession in this show, and I was quite worried that the show couldn’t convincingly allow Joe to devote the same, how do you say, energy to his deviance. However, You has pulled it off, and not only is Joe still doing his thing (and still losing his sh*t in the process), he’s also got all the added problems of a married person. If executed properly, the show would put him in tight spots that make Season 1 look lightweight in comparison, so yeah, this can be comparable to young Tiger gliding around as the toast of the PGA world like it ain’t no thing, followed by well-known troubles and a comeback phase. Like Murray and Woods, Joe is much more distracted with added responsibility, but that actually makes this show even more entertaining than it already was. The stakes are higher for Joe, and somehow, being married with a child does not put a cramp in his serial-killing style.

Netflix

However, this also does not put a cramp in his wife’s murder-style, either. This isn’t a spoiler, because we saw how nutso Love Quinn turned out to be in Season 2. I am also tossing in a Mr. & Mrs. Smith reference here, and I mean it. Joe/Will and Love aren’t paid assassins, but killing is (ultimately) their way of life, and they’ve got their own moral codes to justify their bad deeds. Even when they don’t want to kill, it ends up happening. Their homicides are, at times, crimes of passion, and in other instances, meticulously plotted out scenarios (which mean to conceal their other killings) that go completely haywire and turn into murder. It is, darkly enough, entertaining to watch them work to cover up their body count. There’s also the guarantee that their tracks cannot be completely erased, and that they’ll never stop resorting to violence. I mean, c’mon. Joe’s “book preservation” safe room where he kept victims exists in this season, too, only that it’s kept in Love’s bakery, and there’s simply no “one last job” for these two, ever.

Everything, as well, is kept endlessly interesting by the fact that Love is much more unhinged than Joe is. If you’ll also recall, Joe wasn’t exactly pumped about settling down “for life.” Love was a real piece of work, after all, and his mirror image in some ways, which also happened to be the ways that he loathed about himself. So, he’s miserable, for the most part, but he damn well knows that he’s there for damage control purposes. For every carefully measured scheme that he executes, she’s flying off the handle like a slasher-movie baddie. And honestly, yeah, he will always have to sleep with one eye open, so to speak, for good reason.

There’s the whole couples’ therapy angle, which is where the show really dives into the Mr. & Mrs. Smith vibes. You dissects the American marriage and happy-family BS that many people project while feeling utterly unfulfilled inside. The subject of parenting, too, goes off the rails here because getting one’s kid into the perfect nursery school is a concern for Love; yet two parents must also go dig a grave while their infant sits in his car seat and does his best to amuse himself. To add to the mess: Joe and Love have moved to Instagram-worshipping suburbia, which is loaded with overly nosy neighbors and self-obsessed types who aren’t quite as loathsome as Chris D’Elia’s late perv, but close. So, it’s a careful needle to thread here with You. The viewers want and expect more as the show continues, but everything still must be emotionally believable enough that we’re rooting for someone during each increasingly batsh*t development.

The season, ultimately, is a raging success, yet my goodness, there’s a lot here. Netflix sent out a fairly lengthy list of what cannot be revealed before Season 3 surfaces. I can say, however, that the sh*t hits the fan in the first episode and never lets up. Joe can’t give up his ways (including his roaming eyes), Love refuses to give up hers, and their sleepy little suburb is about to get rocked into oblivion. The powers that be come up with no shortage of scenarios to accelerate until the final moments (my jaw did hang open many times during episodes 8-10), and it’s a bloody good time for all, or at least, those of us in the audience. As for Joe? He’s f*cked, but he deserves it.

Netflix’s ‘You’ returns on October 15.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

‘The Daily Show’ Hilariously Profiled A New Jersey Woman Fighting For Her Right To Post ‘F#ck Biden’ Signage On Her Property

Throughout history, people have used the power of their own voices to change the world—and Andrea Dick just so happens to be one of those brave individuals. The Daily Show’s Michael Kosta recently paid a visit to the Roselle Park, New Jersey home of Dick, who is currently fighting for her right to decorate her home in as many “F*#k Joe Biden” and “Joe Biden Sucks” signs as she f*cking pleases.

It all began back over Memorial Day, according to Dick, when she decided to spruce up the exterior of her home with a few colorful pro-Trump signs that used even more colorful language. But the profanity-laden makeover didn’t sit well with town officials, who fined her for the profane signage. She took the town to court, lost, then appealed—and won. Because neither Dick nor her MAGArrific banners were about to come down without a fight.

When Kosta asked Dick why these signs are so important to her, she explained that: “I feel, honestly, that Trump won this election in 2020. I literally think it was totally stolen from him.” Which led Kosta to wonder why her signs didn’t mention the election at all. She was honest in her answer: Because she didn’t make or print the signs herself, she bought them from China.

Even though “Mrs. Dick’s free speech was imported from Communist China,” Kosta said he wanted to know how Roselle Park Mayor Joe Signorello could justify trying to silence her sweary décor. Signorello was quick to defend his position, claiming that he’s not attempting to “silence” Dick—he’s simply “trying to make sure people are good neighbors, especially around children.” He also noted that Dick “has had pro-Trump signs plastered all over her house for the last three years, which is totally allowable by our local ordinances. But the code states that you can’t have explicit or offensive material—a poster or any kind of signage—outside of your house.”

“Wait, so the issue you have isn’t with the message, ‘F*ck Biden,’” Kosta asked, “it’s with the actual word ‘f*ck’?” Signorello said yes—especially in that it creates an issue where parents need to explain “what the f-bomb means” to their youngsters. Dick’s response to that? “Come on! They hear it at the park. They got the trash music going… that rap sh*t they listen to.”

Astute musical opinions aside, Dick’s actually got a pretty powerful group in her corner: the ACLU. (Or, as Kosta calls them: “The mother*cking ACLU!”) Amol Sinha, the organization’s executive director, explained that they took on Dick’s case because they “serve to defend everybody’s constitutional rights, regardless of the views they hold.”

“We’re worried about the implications for everybody else,” Sinha continued. In other words: “If you can’t say ‘f*ck Biden,’ then you won’t be able to say ‘f*ck Trump.’” As Kosta thoughtfully pointed out, this would also mean we can’t say “f*ck Ted Cruz, f*ck Don Jr., f*ck Ivanka Trump.” And who wants to live in a world like that?

You can watch the full clip above.