Mottley Law Firm - December 2022

GRANDMA BABS IS TAKING TIKTOK BY STORM!

Barbara Costello, deemed TikTok’s favorite grandma, has taken the world by storm with her cooking and lifestyle advice on the popular platform. Like most viral TikTok users, Costello “blew up” during the COVID-19 quarantine by showing users how to make easy meals at home and giving advice to make everyday living a little easier. Grandma Babs began her journey in April 2020. Her daughter, Liz Ariola, already had an established TikTok platform when she recruited her mother to start her own account. She was hesitant initially, but Grandma Babs lives by the mantra, “You’re never too old to try something new!” There was a future beyond entertainment, and Babs realized her show could also be used as a teaching tool. Grandma Babs’ first video — demonstrating how to cook a sheet-pan chicken recipe — received more than 130,000 views! The recipes she has collected throughout the decades from family, friends, magazines, and even newspapers have benefited many people. But since her recipe box can’t supply TikTok content forever, she began expanding her repertoire. She has posted many simple life-hack videos along with some wise grandmotherly advice. Grandma Babs’ fanbase ranges between 20–40-year-olds, and fans have found comfort in her presence as many couldn’t see their relatives during the quarantines of the past two years. COOKING UP FOOD FOR THE SOUL

She continues to use her TikTok platform to help people, but now she is on TV, too — like “Good Morning America” and “Access Hollywood.” TikTok has taken Grandma Babs to a celebrity status that has transitioned well from the phone screen to the television screen. Her most popular post to date has been an overnight breakfast casserole that caught the attention of Drew Barrymore, who then invited Costello to her show! So, what’s in store for Grandma Babs? She may be 72 years old, but her trajectory on the popular platform suggests she may host her own cooking show someday! But, she’s in no rush and would prefer her career to evolve naturally. She still enjoys her time on TikTok and plans to stay on as long as her content continues to help others.

Fact-Checking the TV Show ‘The Finder’ CAN A BRAIN INJURY TURN YOU INTO A SUPERHERO?

real-life condition known as acquired savant syndrome (ASS). As Scientific American puts it, “In acquired savant syndrome, astonishing new abilities, typically in music, art, or mathematics, appear unexpectedly in ordinary persons after a head injury, stroke, or another central nervous system (CNS) incident where no such abilities or interests were present pre-incident.” ASS is rare, but it does happen. In 1860, a man named Eadweard Muybridge was injured in a stagecoach crash and woke up to find he’d suddenly become a brilliant inventor. In 1994, New York orthopedic surgeon Tony Cicoria was struck by lightning and transformed into a pianist and composer overnight. Then there’s the story of college dropout Jason Padgett. In 2002, someone attacked Padgett in a bar and gave him a concussion. When he awoke in the hospital, the BBC reports that “[his] world was overlaid with geometric shapes and gridlines.” He became a math genius! Of course, ASS doesn’t appear without strings attached. It often coincides with scary personality changes, pain, symptoms of autism, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). More often than not, there are no upsides to a traumatic brain injury. If you or someone you know has experienced one because of an accident, don’t go straight for the Harvard applications — call our firm for help! We’ll make sure you get the treatment and compensation you need.

If you’re a fan of the TV show “Bones” — a crime procedural/comedy about a forensic anthropologist — you might remember the short- lived series “The Finder” from 2012. “The Finder” was a “Bones” spinoff with a different premise. The main character wasn’t a doctor but a veteran who gained superpowers from brain damage! “The Finder” focused on Walter Sherman, a former military police officer turned detective. According to IMDB, when Sherman walked into an IED explosion in Iraq, his traumatic brain injury “triggered the ability to see connections between seemingly unrelated events, objects, or people.” He uses this new superpower to solve crimes.

The premise of “The Finder” is pretty cool — but is it realistic?

This probably isn’t the answer you were expecting, but yes! It’s possible that Walter’s superpower in “The Finder” was a form of the

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