Dateline:
Viral Nation’s latest wave of signees
include The McCartys
Viral Nation has upgraded its talent lineup in a big way. The creator-focused marketing and technology company has announced a wave of new signings that will add notable names like Brooke Ashley Hall, The Furrha Family, The McCartys, Cale Brown, and Xavier Mortimer to its roster.
That list includes several creators who are known for producing family-friendly content. Hall is the matriarch of The Beverly Halls, a stylish clan that cracked out Tubefilter Top 50 charts back in 2021. The McCartys, who bring their all-ages brand of comedy to short-form platforms, run a channel that has also ranked among the most-watched hubs in the world. So too has The Furrha Family, which broke out on YouTube Shorts and TikTok during the pandemic.
Viral Nation’s other signees may not be as
familiar as the McCartys, Furrhas, or Halls, but they still know a thing or two about short-form content creation. Cale Brown’s TikTok dance videos have received praise for their snappy editing while attracting more than seven million followers. Xavier Mortimer may not have sick dance moves, but the magician does describe himself as a “real-life wizard.”
These creators are joining a Viral Nation talent roster that has expanded several times over the past year. The agency, which often works at the intersection of sports and content creation, represents diverse clients like The Harlem Globetrotters and streamer chocoTaco.
“With the addition of these dynamic creators to the Viral Nation Talent family, we’re not only expanding our talent pool, but also enriching the depth and breadth of our influencer representation,” said Viral Nation Talent President Jonathan Chanti in a statement. “Their unique skills and expertise mirror our own commitment to providing unrivaled representation and nurturing sustained growth.”
Viral Nation provides its clients with 360 talent representation. The agency prides itself on its “comprehensive suite of in-house resources,” which help creators expand their brands while increasing the production value of their videos.
In total, Viral Nation’s talent roster now includes more than 700 creators, celebrities, and athletes, who are spread across 35 verticals.
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Dateline:
Our 39th Anniversary Trip
By Margaret
ED NOTE:
Kelly &
Margaret spent their 39th wedding anniversary on a trip to
Mackinac Island and Sault St. Marie, Michigan. What started out as a
nice romantic getaway, turned into a week full of
misadventures.
It
was a crazy couple of days on our anniversary trip. We
left for Mackinac Island on Wednesday. About half way up,
it started pouring down rain on on the drive up to
Mackinac. We got Mackinaw City and took the ferry to the
island in a steady rain. We took a horse-pulled cab to the
Grand Hotel & where we got “upgraded“ to a
Lakeview Room (a very nice surprise). Unfortunately, the
walls were paper thin in the 150+ year old structure,
& a child in the next room was having a major
meltdown.This
happened twice. The Grand Hotel has a rotating menu during the
week, and again unfortunately we had the green menu which
had really nothing I liked. They offered frog legs, prime
rib, duck, some weird
fish thing, a vegan option, and chicken. So, I got
something that I eat a lot of at home... the chicken!
Luckily,
the screaming child and family left the next day and also
good news... the rain finally stopped. Kelly and I walked
around the island. When we got back, the first thing we
heard was the new neighbor, with another kid who was very
loud and crashing into the walls. After a nice meal, we
watched the Lions beat KC on Thursday Night Football.
Kelly
gives a thumbs up that we made it through the
pouring rain to Mackinac - Our wet taxi ride - The
nice view from our 'upgraded' room
.
The
'Secret' Garden at the Grand Hotel - A little
Putt-Putt at the Gem
.
The
view from the pool at the Grand Hotel - A view of
Mackinac from the fort
.
A video from Fort Mackinac of
a soldier firing the cannon
Kelly poses by
the cannon post shot
We
left the island on Friday to travel to Sault Ste. Marie to
visit the Soo Locks and take a boat tour of 2 lighthouses.
We got there early and couldn't check in the hotel, so we
had some lunch and then walked to the Tower of History. It
was a loooong walk. Cool views though!
The
Tower of History is the tallest building in the
U.P. with great 360 degree views
Kelly
& I checked
into our motel, which was right across from the Soo Locks.
It had one light next to the bed. One light in the
bathroom. A street light right outside our window &
every time a ship went through the locks day or night,
they would sound the horn!!! 24/7!
Saturday
we had a boat tour, going through the locks & sailing
past a couple of lighthouses! We got cleared to enter the
locks when we were asked to delay to share the lock with a
cruise ship. Well, this ship was brand new & took its
sweet time. We ended up waiting for the locks and getting
through in about an hour which should have taken like 15 minutes.
We got through the locks & they kept announcing on the
ships' PA that the prepaid lunches were available. I
told Kelly that I never saw that on the ticket. Come to
find out, it was for the later tour and not our 8am tour.
So in essence, we stole all the lunches for the next tour
boat. The only problem was that the later boat had already
left, but were delayed before the locks. An arrangement
was made between captains that we would wait for them and
then hand off the lunches to them on the St. Mary's River.
The
Soo Locks - A cruise ship on the St. Mary's River
- We had to wait while the cruise ship pulled in
behind to share the lock with us
.
Some
of the lighthouses and guidance buoys we saw on
the cruise
.
We
used the smaller Canadian lock to go back after
doing a lunch exchange with the operator of the
lock
Since
we were already over an hour+ late because of delays, our
captain called the guy in charge at the Canadian Lock. He
agreed that we could hand the lunches to the man from the
Army Corps of Engineers at that lock, then
the other tour boat could pick them up. The Canadian Lock
is not used much because it is smaller and many boats are
too big to fit in. The tour took over 2 hours longer than
expected, and we wanted to get home before dark. We
stopped to eat in Birch Run, outside of Frankenmuth.
However they were very busy and we had to wait because
Frankenmuth had a car show & the restaurant was
packed! I ordered a salad and Kelly ordered a large pizza.
After almost an hour after we put in the order, the
manager came to our table and said that the cook dropped
the pizza! So, I had my salad, and we waited another 20 minutes
for our "free" pizza to go. We
ended up getting home at 8:45 pm... in the dark.
Woke
up Sunday, didn’t feel good. I have Covid. I need a
vacation from my vacation!!!!
Dateline:
Veteran's Day, 2023
We here at
the McCarty Metro would like to celebrate and commemorate
all our Veterans who have served our country. We appreciate
your sacrifices to help keep us safe and our country free.
May you always know and remember how much you are
appreciated. And to those Vets who are no longer with us,
whether passing on in, or out of uniform, we love you, and
miss you, and remember you always! May God Bless Our
Veterans!
.
themccartys
on TikTok has grown it's following to over 6.1 million people. They also have
over 136 million likes. themccartys
on YouTube are currently top
25 in the US, and are also in the top 50 in views world wide,
and they have over 8.73 million subscribers and over 13.3 billion
(yes with a 'b') views.
Congrats to Kevin,
Stephanie, Audri and Braxton on this great
feat. If you haven't seen their
posts yet, download the TikTok and YouTube apps and search
for themccartys and subscribe, or visit https://themccartys.tv
McCarty
brother, Larry McCarty, is now becoming a
sensation with his jokes on Tik Tok and
YouTube. On Tik
Tok, @larrymccarty65 Larry has 212 followers, and over
1480 likes of his
hilarious videos. Check him out also on YouTube
@larrymccarty9135 which he has
over 12480 views. You'll be glad you did!
..
.
3
Metro Hacks To Make Thanksgiving Day Run Easier
Use
your ice chest as a fridge...
.
In the lead-up to the big feast, refrigerator real estate is precious. Clear out those space-hogging bottles of dressing and pickles, and stow them in the garage in a cooler filled with ice packs.
Slow
Cooker As Mashed Potato Keeper...
The only thing worse than lumpy mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving is cold, gluey ones. To keep your spuds warm when every burner of your stovetop is in use, butter your slow-cooker insert, add a little heavy cream and spoon in the potatoes. Set the temp to low and stir every hour or so to keep your potatoes smooth and silky.
Thermos As a Gravy
Warmer...
If it works for
coffee, tea, or even minestrone soup, it'll work for your
turkey gravy. Move to a gravy boat just before serving.
If
you have household tips, tricks, or hacks that you
would like to share, send them to me
at mccartymetro@gmail.com
Here are some recent travel destinations from our readers...
.
Kelly & Margaret spent their anniversary on Mackinac
Island
Larry flew to Michigan for a little golf with the brothers.
Mike & Karen went to Myrtle Beach
Austin and Kristina traveled out to Seattle for a wedding,
but also stopped in Bend, OR for a visit Chris and family
.
Did you travel recently? Send us your destination and pictures to
mccartymetro@gmail.com
Dear Editor: My father crammed the stuffing into the Thanksgiving turkey with his fingers. The stuffing was delicious! Was Dad's nicotine stains the secret ingredient? -Salivating in Hudsonville, Mich.
ED NOTE: Dad's stuffing always was the hit of Thanksgiving. Needless to say, it's addicting! Sometimes
when I get excited, I just need a bowl of stuffing to relax.
To be honest, I’d walk a mile for dad's stuffing. Dad's stuffing tastes good like a
cigarette, er, Thanksgiving side dish should. I even liked the years
when we could smell a hint of menthol coming from the oven
while we were stuffing celery sticks! You’ve come a long way baby, and at this point, I'd rather fight than switch. The best part of it all though was
after dinner and the stuffing was put in the fridge, I would
sneak in, and put a pinch of it between my cheek and gums, and savor it all
day, and no one was the wiser!
Dear
Editor: Bourbon or whiskey? -Snockered
ED NOTE: Good
question Snock! Just to test, I walked up to Total Wine and
bought a bottle of fine bourbon and a top shelf scotch
whiskey. I was worried I would drop them on my way home, so
I decided to drink them in the parking lot before the long
walk home. I'm really glad I did, because I fell over six
times!
Dear Editor: What is the best way to safeguard my Halloween candy
from other trick-or-treaters AND from my brothers?
-Masked Mc, Michigan
ED NOTE: You are asking the wrong person on how to protect your stash from other
trick-or-treaters (ie the Kevin incident from 1971). Now, your brothers are a different story. You can try to
outsmart them by putting bags marked 1˘, 5˘, 10˘, and 25˘. Then, put all the good stuff in the penny bag to fool them. Or, you can do just what I did, and suck on all the candy first. That way, if they do eat some, you will have the last laugh. Anyway, just wanted to share a Halloween joke with you... Two monsters were at a Halloween party when one said to the other, “A lady just rolled her eyes at me. What should I do?” The other monster replied, “Be a gentleman and roll them back to her.”
Dear Editor: I always turn to the McCarty Metro for life guidance. What is the best time to change a furnace filter?
-Mike, Hudsonville
ED NOTE: If
your furnace air filter looks like a large gray cat, it is
probably time to change it. Actually, most experts agree
that you should change your furnace filters every three
months to keep your HVAC system working optimally. However,
I sometimes wait even longer, so my personal opinion would
be changing it sometime between 3 months to when your
furnace backs up and soot and dust are all over
everything... Oh... And you can tell your friends you now
have a large gray cat!
Dear Editor : My letter is referencing last month's edition of Jerry's World. Normally I'm not one to complain, but I have to question the integrity of this paper. Just what kind of paper are you
runnin' here where you show a young boy enjoying himself straddled over a lawn sprinkler?!! I thought this was an article about having good clean fun in the neighborhood amongst the kiddos. Who is this kid anyway? Gotta be one of those McCarty boys. It's just like them to behave that way. The article was well-written but the picture of choice was not well-chosen. Just
sayin'. -Shocked and Disturbed (my husband says to sign this
"Schweaty Balls")
ED
NOTE: This is Margaret. Sorry about my husband
allowing this photo to be in the Metro. Kelly would
have answered this himself, but for some reason, he
has been running through the sprinklers non-stop for
the last couple of hours. Thanks for your input, and
I'll make a note to take out any pictures of family
fun.
.
Dear
Editor: I was listening to a Cockroach classic song
“On the Lips”, and was wondering if the subject
of this song was Meredith Baxter Birney or Meredith
MacRae? Follow up question: was it an
open-mouth kiss?
ED NOTE: Yes.
Eric Swan and I were in Southern California taking
in a play starring former Petticoat Junction star
Meredith MacRae (Billy Jo) and her real life
husband, former star of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,
Greg Mullavey. After the show, they had a Q&A
with the audience, so I came right out and said
"I have a question for Greg!" "Can I
kiss your wife?" He chuckled and said, it's all
up to her. Next thing I knew, Meredith MacRae was
all over me! And the open or closed mouth... A gentleman never
tells!
.
I appreciate
you stopping by and would like to hear your questions, comments, or editorials.
Just submit them anytime during the month to mccartymetro@gmail.com
for inclusion in our next issue.
For those that do not speak the language, Le' Food is
French for "The Food"! Here you can find some
of our Metro family favorite recipe and tips.
Readers,
email me at mccartymetro@gmail.com
to submit your favorite recipe for inclusion in an
upcoming issue.
This month we have a great recipe submitted by Kitty
Pumpkin
Squares
My guys all love
the pumpkin squares. Have to make them in the
fall and Thanksgiving plus when I make them for
a pot luck,
everyone wants the recipe. There are other
pumpkin recipes out there, but this is moist and
ever so delicious.
.
Square
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cup of sugar
1 16oz. can of pumpkin
1 cup cooking oil
2 cups flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. Mix pumpkin, sugar, oil, and eggs together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and salt together in a separate bowl. Stir flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture until well combined. Spread evenly into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven until top until tops spring back when lightly pressed, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting into 24 squares.
Cream cheese icing
directions are: Mix margarine, cream cheese, powdered
sugar, and vanilla until creamy and frost the pumpkin squares when cool.
.
Dear
Pepe: This is the first year I
am cooking for Thanksgiving. I have
recipes from mom, but wondering if
you have any organizing advice.
-Donna
Pepe:
Here are some tips prior to cooking
and during the cooking to remember
to help relieve some of that
Thanksgiving stress.
IN
ADVANCE...
Decide
in advance how much turkey you will need before you shop.
Definitely get a meat thermometer. Make sure you have a roasting pan large enough for your turkey. Or, roast 2 small birds versus 1 large
bird. Allow an adequate number of days to defrost a frozen bird in the refrigerator.
Wash hands, sinks, counters, utensils, and platter thoroughly with soap and hot water before and after
working with bird. Remember to remove the bag of giblets from inside the bird.
Wash the inside and outside of the turkey in cold water and drain well.
If you are going to stuff your
turkey, do it right before roasting.
COOKING
YOUR TURKEY...
Place the turkey breast-side up in a shallow roasting pan. You may want to brush with oil or melted
margarine. Insert meat thermometer in inner thigh.
Cover loosely with aluminum foil. Roast the bird 15 to 18 minutes per pound for unstuffed bird; 18 to 24 minutes per pound for a stuffed
bird. Remove foil 20 to 30 minutes before roasting is finished to allow the bird to brown.
Remove turkey when dark meat reaches 180° F and the stuffing reaches 165° F.
Allow the cooked turkey to sit for 20 minutes before carving.
After dinner, carve leftover from bone and refrigerate promptly. Remember, you only have 2 hours from
the time you take the bird from the oven.
And finally, don't forget to smile!
You can submit videos by sending it to
me, send me a link, or uploading to YouTube and sending me the
info to mccartymetro@gmail.com
.
Michael
Myers Attacks
YouTube
sensations, The McCartys, get attacked by horror film maniac
Michael Myers. Then Spider-Man gives it a try!
The Latest
News
Larry McCarty
shares some more
jokes on YouTube
Incredible
Animals
Put On A Show
Dogs, Cats,
and Birds... Oh My!
Brad Goes 3
for 3
Brad McCarty
played for his NISCO softball team in a tournament and went
3 for 3 with 2 home runs.
.
PLEASE
PRAY FOR OUR METRO FAMILY AND FRIENDS
.
.
.If you know
someone who could use our prayers, please email me at mccartymetro@gmail.com.
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GONE
BUT NOT FORGOTTEN - THOSE WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY
SINCE THE LAST EDITION
Terry
Funk, 79, Hall of Fame professional wrestler (NWA, WWF) and actor (Road House).
Bray Wyatt, 36, professional wrestler (WWE), heart attack. Bob Barker, 99, game show host (The Price Is Right, Truth or Consequences) and animal welfare activist, 18-time Emmy winner. Jimmy
Buffett, 76, singer-songwriter ("Margaritaville", "Cheeseburger in Paradise") and author, founder of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, Merkel-cell carcinoma. Gary
Wright, 80, singer-songwriter ("Dream Weaver", "Love Is Alive") and musician (Spooky Tooth), Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia.
Steve Harwell, 56, singer (Smash Mouth), liver failure.
Adnan Al-Kaissie, 84, professional wrestler (AWA, WWWF, WWF). Henry
Boucha, 72, hockey player (Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota North Stars), Olympic silver medalist (1972). Phil
Sellers, 69, basketball player (Detroit Pistons), stroke. Brooks
Robinson, 86, Hall of Fame baseball player (Baltimore Orioles), World Series champion (1966, 1970).
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Send your news articles and photos to me at
mccartymetro@gmail.com
for inclusion in the issue
Kelly & Margaret spent their anniversary on Mackinac
Island
