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This 91-year-old grandma became a viral comedy hit with her grandson, who learned 'how awesome old people are' http://www.asiaone.com/world/91-year-old-grandma-became-viral-comedy-hit-her-grandson-who-learned-how-awesome-old-people A 91-year-old grandma has attained social media stardom as half of a comedy duo alongside her 25-year-old grandson. Five years ago, Ross Smith was in college at the University of Dayton when he started filming six-second videos on Vine. He had amassed a sizable following, but for one of his clips, he asked his grandma Pauline "Granny" Kana to block one of his basketball shots. And from there everything skyrocketed. "My brand just turned into me and Granny taking over the world," Smith said. Today, Ross and Granny have 15 million followers on social media, including more than 4.6 million followers on Facebook and 2.1 million Instagram followers on Smith's official accounts alone. The two beat out more than 17,900 videos to win $100,000 through viral media website 9GAG's "Fun Off" contest, with almost 250,000 likes. The combo do everything from trick beer pong shots to trying out flamethrowers to making parody videos for rap songs. "Our humour is universal," Smith said. "Everyone knows Granny is funny." For the first three to four years, the clips were viral but not exactly profitable. Smith took some time off from his social accounts to pursue an MBA at the University of Dayton and play pro football in Europe in 2015. But he realised he enjoyed working with his grandmother, so he started pursuing it full time and was able to parlay it into a successful career for the both of them. Part of the show's appeal lies in their genuine relationship, said Russell Schneider, 9GAG's head of sales and business development. "Ross is like a young man next door," Schneider said. "It's very rare for us to see a grandmother and grandson grow close and have fun with each other like BFFs. It's this cross-generational BFF relationship that makes them so special." Granny on Facebook: 'Some of the elderly love it.' Granny said there's a misconception elderly people don't like or use social media. She uses Facebook to keep in touch with family, and enjoys watching viral dog videos. "Some of the elderly love it," Granny said of Facebook. "It's interesting. You see different parts of the space, the world and the people all around having a good time. Seeing people doing things, I like it!" Granny gets the idea that their act is a big hit - though she calls every platform Facebook, Smith noted. However, she didn't really realise how big of a following the two of them had the first four years until Smith got her an iPad for Christmas. After that, he couldn't hide their videos from her. "Even when I'm walking to the plaza, which I live about three blocks away, sometimes people going by with their cars they stop and say, 'You're Granny!'" Granny said. "When I get to the plaza, the people in the stores they come up to me. It's just a party at times." Her favourite video she's done involves her raking a pile of leaves over a secret saucy message written in chalk on concrete. Or, it's the time she got to film with her celebrity crush Chuck Norris -- she appreciated his sincerity and generosity toward everyone who was filming with them. "First time Chuck has been beaten in his whole life," Granny boasted. Most important, she enjoys being around her grandson and learning about him throughout the process. "He's easygoing, happy-go-lucky," she said. "He likes to try everything, and everything just seems to fall in place." Smith is amazed by how much their act has taken off and that he could make a career out of hanging out with his grandma. The two are continuing to work on their social media videos and have a television show in development. They're also working on raising money for Alzheimer's research. By the end of this year, Granny hopes she'll be able to learn how to drive for the first time. (She failed driver's training in her youth.) Most importantly, Smith has learned his grandmother can still teach him quite a bit. She won't throw away milk when they go on vacation, Smith explained. She'll put it in the freezer for three weeks because she grew up poor and "back in the day that was precious food and drink." It's taught him to value material things more. "Honestly most people - and I was probably one of those people at the time - don't have respect for the elderly," Smith explained. "Once you're old, you kind of go away and go to a nursing home. Doing this opened my mind to how awesome old people are and how cool they live their lives. They appreciate the small things we don't appreciate in this fast-paced advertising industry-based life."

Singapore claims no import of such apples, those buying apples take note. I just bought some gala apples from Sheng Siong, label is like french apples, but cannot find such labels online..LOL BERA - Malaysia has stopped the import of two brands of apples from California because of fears that they could be tainted with the Listeriosis bacteria, reported Malaysian media. Agriculture minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the ministry had received a notice from the US authorities that the Gala red apples and Granny Smith green apples from California were suspected to be contaminated with the bacteria, reported New Straits Times. "The ministry will stop the import of the affected apples while the Health Ministry will check those already in the local market," he said on Saturday. He added that his ministry had no jurisdiction to recall apples that were already in Malaysia as this involved food nutrition, which is regulated by the Health Ministry. Malaysia's Health Ministry said it had conducted tests on the apples from California-based Bidart Bros at all entry points in Malaysia. The ministry's director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry had identified two importers of the apples in Malaysia, and had directed them to recall the apples. Consumption of food tainted with the bacteria could cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, nausea and in severe cases, death. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore told Zaobao in comments published on Sunday that Singapore does not import the affected batches of apples from the US. In Thailand, local authorities have already seized a shipment of US apples from the 2014 harvest, and health officials are examining shipments at agriculture shipment checkpoints in the country, the Bangkok Post reported. The Philippines, too, has issued advisories recalling imported Gala and Granny Smith apples from the US, reported Xinhua news agency. Bidart Bros said the last shipment date of the affected apples was on Dec 2, reported Los Angeles Times. The affected apples were sold under the names Big Big and Granny’s Best, but the company says they could also be sold under other brand names, or with no name. Consumers were being advised to ask fruit sellers if their Granny Smith or Gala apples came from Bidart Bros. The US Food and Drug Administration found two strains of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that causes listeriosis, at the company's processing plant in Bakersfield. It has determined that the plant was a supplier of the contaminated apples used to make the affected caramel apples, reported Los Angeles Times. The packaged caramel apples were at the centre of a recent listeria outbreak that resulted in the deaths of several people in the US. - See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/us-gala-granny-smith-apples-now-barred-malaysia-20150118#sthash.BRuH02N6.dpuf

Can another one here help ? My friend bought a 10 yr membership and later regretted and go back to this company to cancel the agreement. He bot it @$8000 if I can remember correctly. Thinking that the cooling off period is 2 weeks (similar to Timeshare) this company manager say that the agreement cannot be cancelled and my friend LL has to take it as the 2 week period applies to Timeshare by gov regulations. This ruling does not apply to Holiday membership. Is this true ? What can he do to get his money back ?