Olivia Rodrigo gives update on second album
Olivia Rodrigo has promised fans new music is on the way shortly.
2023-05-22 17:49
Taylor Swift fan who missed out on tickets gets job as concert security instead
Getting tickets to Taylor Swift's Era Tour was a struggle for a lot of fans, but one Swiftie was a real "mastermind" by devising a solution to ensure he didn't miss out. Davis Perrigo, an accountant (and a big TS fan) from Nashville was so determined to see the popstar live that he applied to become a security guard at Swift's Nashville concert. Although Perrigo was unable to use his phone to film while doing the job and had to face the crowd as part of the role, it didn't stop him for belting out the lyrics to Swift's biggest hits, which one concertgoer managed to video. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In the TikTok, posted by Ryan Bailey (@sobaditsgoodwithryanb), that was sent in by one of his listeners called Leah, Perrigo can be seen facing the crowd but simultaneously (and passionately) singing his heart to 'I Knew You Were Trouble.' "Loved this video one of my listeners Leah sent where a security guard gives Taylor a run for her money at one of her Nashville shows!" the caption read. The video has since gone viral with 6.9m views, 1.2m likes, along with thousands of comments who loved Perrigo's enthusiasm. @sobaditsgoodwithryanb Loved this video one of my listeners Leah sent where a security guard gives Taylor a run for her money at one of her Nashville shows! #taylorswift #taylornation #swiftie #swifttok One person wrote: "He was in front of section E night one. He knew all the songs." "Davis is me. I am Davis," another person said. A third added: "He was just so excited to be there and I’m happy for him." "Give this man a raise she's right there and he didn't look back once," a fourth person commented. Someone else replied: "Ryan Reynolds just wanted a unique experience of the show," noting that he looked like the Deadpool actor. “I’ve been to all sorts of sporting events, this was the loudest I’ve ever heard it,” Perrigo told News Channel 5, describing the crowd as “ unbelievably loud." He noted how at one point he was- “reprimanded” by Swift’s security, where he was instructed to “take it down a notch.” “My wife, she jokes that I sing Taylor Swift songs with such passion for someone who’s never been broken up with,” Perrigo said. All in all, he says it was "a blessing that I didn’t get tickets," after working one of the coolest jobs. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-05-22 17:47
Barry Keoghan cast in Bird
Barry Keoghan is to feature in the cast of Andrea Arnold's film 'Bird'.
2023-05-22 17:46
'I have my life in my own hands': A filmmaker spent three years with Paralympian and triathlete Marieke Vervoort to explore her wish to die by euthanasia
Throughout her storied career, triathlete and Paralympian Marieke Vervoort captured the imagination of her native Belgium and the wider world.
2023-05-22 16:21
China’s New Covid Wave Set to See 65 Million Cases a Week
China is likely to see its Covid-19 wave peaking at about 65 million infections a week toward the
2023-05-22 15:55
Miley Cyrus rules out 'isolating' arena shows
Miley Cyrus doesn't feel a "connection" to her fans at large-scale concerts.
2023-05-22 15:26
Harrison Ford relished reviving the role of Indiana Jones
Harrison Ford has always been keen to shoot another 'Indiana Jones' movie.
2023-05-22 15:25
Fast and Furious franchise 'is in the pruning process'
Michelle Rodriguez feels excited about the future of the 'Fast and Furious' franchise.
2023-05-22 15:23
Foo Fighters unveil new drummer Josh Freese
Josh Freese will replace the late Taylor Hawkins as Foo Fighters' sticksman.
2023-05-22 15:17
'She was robbed': Internet declares We Ani should have won 'American Idol' Season 21
Iam Tongi won 'American Idol' Season 21 but fans think We Ani deserved the coveted title
2023-05-22 14:29
‘Suddenly, I saw Dad again’: The radical technology helping those living with dementia
There is a scene in the 2020 film The Father, starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, that is all too familiar for people caring for someone with dementia. In it, Hopkins’ character Anthony struggles to keep up with his daughter Anne’s (Colman) movements. One moment, she is bringing home dinner. The next, she is talking about moving to Paris with a boyfriend he doesn’t like. She’s in his flat. Suddenly, he’s in her flat. Her face shifts – she looks like someone he used to know, then a total stranger. Where is he? When is he? Dementia is a cruel sickness that radiates outwards, seeping into the lives of anyone in its orbit. Patients become lost in a maze of memories. The present day becomes too slippery to hold on to, so many retreat into themselves. Wayfinding – meaning the ability to find one’s way in the world – becomes severely impaired, resulting in anxiety, confusion, and distress that can be very difficult for families and carers to cope with. There is no cure for dementia, and most medical research is focused on finding treatments for diseases that cause dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. It’s extremely important work, but there’s also a need for tools that can help those living with dementia as well as their families and carers. As research shows that visual cues can help deliver much-needed aid and relief, a number of small creative companies are stepping in to fill in the gap. Sarah Harrison is the founder of Recognii, the world’s first entertainment DVD made especially for people with moderate to later-stage dementia. The idea for Recognii came about after Harrison began taking care of her father when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2015. She and her mother, a former nurse, opted to care for him in their family home in Harrogate, where Sarah also resides. “As the condition progressed, he became very withdrawn,” she recalls. “He couldn’t watch TV or engage himself in his own activities, couldn’t really have a conversation, couldn’t read books anymore because he couldn’t follow the plot.” But amid all the gloom cast by the disease, there’d be breakthrough moments when Sarah saw her father as she always knew him. These moments often came when he watched children’s TV, as the faces of smiling, happy children and brightly coloured graphics grabbed his attention. “It was great, but it was also too childish and didn’t reflect his life,” Sarah says. “I thought, surely there must be something out there that is more simplistic viewing that does reflect adult experiences – but there was absolutely nothing.” An idea began to form. Sarah thought that if she could create engaging short clips of “gentle, joyful stuff” with no storylines, it would bring him some relief from the fog in his mind. “He responded to very bright colours and contrasts, and two-dimensional images, which reflected what we know about the way dementia impacts cognitive and visual processing.” Changes in visual perception occur when the sensory journey between the brain and organs (such as the eyes and ears) gets interrupted, or slows down due to dementia. According to Alzheimer’s UK, the disease can also lead to damage to the eyes or parts of the brain, which can then lead to misperceptions, misidentifications, hallucinations, delusions and time-shifting. Like Anthony’s experience in The Father, time becomes an amorphous thing, which jumps back and forth instead of moving in a linear fashion. As such, older memories can become safer places for dementia patients to revisit. I noticed the iPad gathering dust. She said it wasn’t easy for her to use and she missed getting letters and postcards like she did in the past Famileo, a company that creates “family newspapers” for elderly people – many with dementia – works with families of patients to create personalised hard-copy newspapers that utilise “reminiscence therapy” to help soothe and comfort. “Typically, people with dementia are more likely to remember long-term memories,” explains Tanguy De Gelis, a co-founder of the company. “Famileo includes old photographs of themselves and the family, which stimulates their memory and helps them remember people as they were.” Each photograph included in the newspapers is accompanied by text that helps provide context, so that the reader can easily identify who they’re looking at, as well as their own place in the family in relation to the people in the picture. “Managers and activity coordinators at care homes often tell us that a person’s dementia journey is not linear, that symptoms come and go,” De Gelis continues. “The consistency and reliability of these personalised newspapers allows it to be appreciated even more on the ‘good days’ patients have. It can be very hard for family members to think of things to talk about with an older relative, but the newspaper can be a conversation starter and provide a visual guide for both sides.” Having a physical newspaper is also a boon for many elderly people who struggle with smartphones, tablets and laptops. For De Gelis, it was his grandmother who inspired the idea for Famileo. “I bought my grandma an iPad as a Christmas present so she could keep in touch with the family through our WhatsApp group,” he recalls. “But one day I went to visit her and I noticed the iPad gathering dust. She said it wasn’t easy for her to use and she missed getting letters and postcards like she did in the past.” The slow pace in developing tools for coping with dementia is down to a lack of understanding about the disease, says Dr Emilia Molimpakis, CEO and co-founder of Thymia. For years, patients languished in care homes, their minds deteriorating as families watched on helplessly. “Unfortunately, up until recently, pinpointing clear signs of Alzheimer’s disease relied on invasive and/or expensive medical tests and these often don’t show clear results until the disease has progressed substantially.” But recent developments in medical treatments and in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) have shifted things. Dr Molimpakis’ platform involves building AI-powered tools to improve the speed, accuracy and objectivity of dementia diagnoses. Thymia also uses video game-style activities to test for symptoms of cognitive disorders, she says, such as major depression, anxiety and dementia. “Each game is built around one or more cognitive tests, the results of which show tell-tale signs of symptoms, such as fatigue issues, memory impairment, concentration difficulties and more,” she explains. It does so by using software that analyses “biomarkers” of disease while players complete the activities across three key data streams: voice, video and behavioural measures. By analysing how someone speaks or what facial micro-expressions they make, Thymia’s work-in-progress models have identified symptoms in major depressive disorders with more than 90 per cent accuracy, Dr Molimpakis says. Major improvements in healthcare mean that people are living longer – but in a cruel twist of fate, this means that dementia is becoming ever more prevalent. There are currently more than 55 million people living with dementia globally, and according to Alzheimer’s Disease International, this figure is expected to balloon to 78 million in 2030 and 139 million in 2050. While scientists are working on earlier diagnosis and treatment, the need for coping mechanisms for living with the disease is growing. Harrison remembers how her father would react when she showed him the clips she created. He passed away before the final version of Recognii’s DVD could be launched. “It’s like the clouds would part, just for a few seconds,” she recalls. “Suddenly, I saw Dad again. The moments when you get a glimpse of who they used to be are so precious, because as the disease progresses, you do feel like you are losing them. So having made something that helps bring them back, even temporarily – it’s like a gift.” Read More A One Direction fan claimed she had a brain tumour. Five years after her death, we still need answers ‘Death acceptance brings peace’: Are death doulas the cure for our fear of the end? ‘You always feel like you’ve done something wrong’: Why UK surrogacy laws need a ‘real overhaul’ Jason Manford comforted by fans after announcing death of family member Grandmother praised for refusing to babysit daughter’s newborn for free 7 tips and tricks for hay fever relief
2023-05-22 14:22
Singapore's prime minister tests positive for COVID-19
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has tested positive for COVID-19 for the first time after returning home from work trips in Africa and Asia
2023-05-22 13:46