The Cat Lawyer Figured Out His Zoom Settings
Of the many phrases we remember from the pandemic, one stands out: 'I'm not a cat.'
The man who uttered it, plaintively, was Rod Ponton, a lawyer who was participating in a virtual civil forfeiture case in Presidio County, Texas, in February 2021. For less than a minute, he was unable to figure out how to turn off the cat filter on his Zoom call. And less than an hour later, it seemed nearly half the internet was sharing in his pain.
'Mr. Ponton, I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings,' the judge said. Mr. Ponton didn't immediately know how to turn it off and was ready to stay on the call looking like a cat. 'I'm prepared to go forward with it,' he said in the video, which was shared widely, and swiftly, online. 'I'm here live. I'm not a cat.'
Four years since the mishap, it still brings smiles to people's faces, Mr. Ponton said in a phone interview. He now gives out business cards with pictures of the cat meme.
'Everybody remembers it,' he said, 'and everybody remembers it fondly.'
While it hasn't exactly changed his life, Mr. Ponton said the moment served as 'the world's best icebreaker at a cocktail party.'
It also taught Mr. Ponton about the speed at which news travels across the internet.
'Within an hour after the actual time it happened, I was getting calls from reporters around the world,' Mr. Ponton said. He received calls and attention regarding it for about six months after it happened, he said, and he appeared on television shows and podcasts.
Reporters don't tend to call him much about the video anymore, but he said he was happy to talk about it.
'I said it then, and I'll repeat it now: I'm glad it happened,' Mr. Ponton said. 'Because it did let everybody have a moment of humor and a moment of sanity during the dark days of the pandemic. I'm glad it happened, even at my expense.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
5 hours ago
- UPI
'Nobu' documentary showcases chef's teamwork philosophy
1 of 5 | Nobu Matsuhisa prepares dishes in his restaurants in "Nobu," in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Vertical LOS ANGELES," June 25 (UPI) -- Chef Nobu Matsuhisa says the documentary Nobu, in New York theaters Friday, shows how he assembles a team in his kitchen and in business. Matt Tyrnauer directs the biographical documentary, which gives a look inside Matsuhisa's restaurants. In a recent Zoom interview with UPI, Matsuhisa, 76, explained why there is very little arguing seen in his kitchens. He still operates his flagship restaurant, Matsuhisa Beverly Hills, along with Nobu locations in Los Angeles, Malibu, New York and other cities worldwide. "Nobu's kitchens are always good teams," Matsuhisa said. "So all the senior chefs teach the younger chefs. My philosophy is one team works like a family." The documentary also shows Matsuhisa in business meetings with partner Robert De Niro. Matsuhisa explains in the film how De Niro encouraged him to open a restaurant in New York in the '90s, but he did not feel ready to until 1994. "He's a great idea man," Matsuhisa said of the actor. "Even Nobu's name is his idea." Now, Matsuhisa considers De Niro a friend as well as a partner. He said they share a philosophy about teamwork, and De Niro is the negotiator in their team. "Also, he travels all over the world," Matsuhisa said of De Niro. "He knows good food but he doesn't cook. I love him." In the film, Matsuhisa also explains his cooking philosophy of love and passion. His signature dishes come from blending traditional Japanese sushi with sauces inspired from his time in Peru. Matsuhisa will adapt dishes to customers' dietary needs, and sometimes discovers new flavors that way. Matsuhisa said he normally spends 10 months per year visiting each of his restaurants to instruct the kitchens on his philosophy. Now, he says, all of his staff can watch the movie. "Now after this movie, all our teams watch this movie, they will understand what I want to do," Matsuhisa said. Tyrnauer said Matsuhisa cooperated with his filmmaking team, too. They filmed during restaurant service hours. The director said the staff worked around the film crew so they could capture the authentic atmosphere of the restaurant. One exception was ensuring Nobu's meals would photograph well. Tyrnauer set up what he calls "beauty photography" to capture the dishes at their best. "We would light things a little differently, including one elaborate day where Nobu made everything he ever invented for me," Tyrnauer said. "We had fixed the lighting so you could see him in action but the light would be appropriate. So the beauty of the food would be expressed on screen." Archival footage and photographs illustrate the life story Nobu tells in the film. He was mentored in sushi by chef Sakai, opened his first restaurant in Peru, married Yoko and raised their family together. After moving to Los Angeles in the '70s and working at different restaurants, he opened Matsuhisa in 1987. The restaurant introduced his Japanese Peruvian fusion cuisine. The film also captures a deeply personal moment for Matsuhisa when he visits the Sakai's grave for the first time after the chef died by suicide. Matsuhisa tells the story of his last phone call with Sakai, where his mentor abruptly said goodbye and hung up. Matsuhisa said he still feels guilty he did not try to talk more. "Maybe if I talked with him more, maybe I can save his life, but I didn't," Matsuhisa said. "Maybe that day if I talked to him more, maybe he'd open his heart to me, maybe I could have saved his life." Matsuhisa said his guilt made him afraid to visit the grave, but Tyrnauer encouraged him to. The moment is captured in the film. The chef said after crying at Sakai's grave, he "feels more comfortable than before but still sad." Nobu opens nationally beginning July 2.
Forbes
a day ago
- Forbes
Josh Gad partners with Amazon Kindle Kids to encourage summer reading.
Josh Gad with his wife and two daughters Amazon Kindle Kids and actor Josh Gad (Frozen, The Book of Mormon) have officially joined forces to encourage children to read more over summer vacation with the 'Backseat Book Crew' initiative. 'If there's one thing that I love my kids doing more than anything else, it's reading,' Gad tells me over Zoom. 'It's something that has been so important to me, being a published author now, that happens because of an appreciation for literature. My passion for literature probably started around my kids' age. So around 14 is when I actually started falling in love with reading, as opposed to dreading it, because it was mostly an assignment. To their credit, my kids [actually] found delight in reading at a far younger age. I used to read them the Harry Potter books. We would do it as a family, I would do all the voices, and I think they just found that so joyful." While open to everyone, the virtual book club (which you can learn more about here) should appeal greatly to families planning to travel over break, especially if those families have kids making their way through several titles at once. "My girls like to read five to six books at a time. I don't know how they do it,' the actor says. 'But that can be a pain in the butt when you're traveling, because you want to limit the amount of luggage you're taking. The fact that my kids have their own version of a Kindle, a Kindle Kids, [means] Gad, who has several excursions planned for the summer — including a journey overseas and trips to national parks across Canada and the United States — knows his kids are just as grateful for their e-readers as he is. '[They] get really annoyed being in a car with me for long periods of time. I'm like Clark Griswold when I travel,' he adds with a smile, comparing himself to Chevy Chase's iconic character from the National Lampoon's Vacation film series. 'I love to annoy them. I love to point out sites. I love to just go early and go hard. And so, having a device like this [as well as] headphones allows them to tune me out, which I'm sure gives them a lot of joy and pleasure." In addition to packing efficiently, embracing the unexpected, and assigning snack duty, one of Gad's golden travel rules is 'make the back seat fun for kids," he reveals. "In this case, giving them a Kindle is really fun for them. It also gives them an education. "And then my type of travel, unfortunately, when we're done with the vacation, I want everyone to feel like they need a vacation. That's how much we do, that's how hard we work. I love museums. I love history. We're going to Malta next week and I plan on taking them to all sorts of different old buildings that they're going to dread. But I hope that one day they come to appreciate the experience and knowledge that comes with those kinds of trips." Over the last year, Gad has openly explored a great deal of his own personal history with In Gad We Trust (a memoir-adjacent collection of essays) and Dark Horse's limited comic series, The Writer (all issues are now available in trade paperback form). Created alongside the Berkowitz Brothers, Ben and Max, the latter — an effervescent cocktail of an adventure that incorporates and remixes Jewish tradition, mysticism, and folklore — served as an ode to Gad's background as the grandson of a Holocaust survivor. 'It's amazing how many myths and how much mythology has had its day — not only in literature writ large, but specifically in the annals of comic books and graphic novels,' he says. "And yet somehow, outside of a very few exceptions (I think Raiders of Lost Ark is probably the the best example) Jewish and, in particular, Old Testament mythology, is something that hasn't really been tapped into. When the Berkowitz Brothers presented me with that opportunity, I immediately said yes. So many of the great, influential writers in this industry were Jewish. And so, not only getting to create an homage to them, but also tackle a subject matter that allows it to be front and center has been really exciting. It's been incredibly thrilling to watch people not only consume this as entertainment, but also appreciate the knowledge element of it and be like, 'How have I never heard these stories? Why do I not know about this?'" Josh Gad's daughters When it comes to his own reading preferences, 'there isn't a genre that I won't tap into as long as it's interesting in some way, shape or form,' Gad shares. One of his recent favorites was Percival Everett's James, an acclaimed retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. 'I'm actually having my kids read some books by Mark Twain on their Kindle Kids this summer, because I shockingly realized that it was a glaring omission from their lexicon of books. I was like, 'Oh no, you guys need to Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer!' I'll probably revisit those books again.' Given that one of his daughters 'is obsessed with Greek mythology,' Gad is also revisiting Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles and Circe — 'two of my favorite books ever' — to see if they're appropriate for younger readers. 'We may actually pop open The Odyssey before the Nolan movie comes out,' he adds. Then comes the mea culpa. 'This is going to appall a lot of people that I've never read this before,' he says before admitting that he only just got through Stephen King's 11/22/63, a richly-detailed thriller about an English teacher who goes back in time to try and prevent the JFK assassination from taking place. 'I love a good time travel book and I don't know how I missed this," finishes Gad. 'I've read a lot of early Stephen King and there are some glaring things on the later end that I haven't read.' Those who sign up for the Kindle Kids Backseat Book Crew will receive a number of reading-themed stickers, a 'Kindle Kid On Board' bumper sticker, a sew-on patch, a number of reading recommendations for the summer, and a a 10% off promo code for their next Kindle Kids or Kindle Paperwhite Kids purchase through Amazon.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Porsha Williams Recreates ‘Waiting To Exhale' Scene After Finalizing Divorce From Simon Guobadia
Porsha Williams and Simon Guobadia's divorce has been finalized, with the Real Housewives Of Atlanta star taking her to story to People, where she recreated an iconic Angela Bassett scene from Waiting To Exhale. Williams spoke to the mag about her 'nightmare' of a divorce and how much she can now relate to the 'message of rage and resilience' found within the scene, where Bernadine, played by Bassett, piles her soon-to-be ex-husbands suits into his car and sets it ablaze in reaction to his deceit and betrayal. 'I didn't expect today to be emotional,' Williams, 44, said on-set. 'But the moment I sat down at that vanity and started brushing my hair, just like Angela in the movie . . . it hit me: I've prettied up the ugly in my life too, when it wasn't so pretty. And I'm done doing that.' Williams and Guobadia's divorce was finalized on June 11 in Georgia. Guobadia appeared in court via Zoom, as he was deported to Nigeria from the U.S. for bank and credit card fraud. 'You go through different stages,' the reality star shared. 'You have that anger. You have the moment where you have to fight for your life in a court situation. And then, toward the end, you have the clarity where you realize you are still blessed. Your family is by our side, your child is protected; there's a whole new life that you can start.' Williams went on to saying being a 'hopeless romantic' led her and Simon to connect so quickly, as they announced their engagement just one month after confirming their relationship. 'And Simon matched my energy,' she added. 'He's very warm. He loved spending time with me. We were freakin' extra. If we wanted to fly out of the country every weekend or post on Instagram together about how much we loved each other, he was down.' However, 'complex' issues with his legal status soon led to problems the mother of one couldn't ignore. She claims she knew things were 'headed down a dark road,' and hired an immigration attorney in January 2024. 'We had a real serious conversation because, being a supportive wife, I wanted to deal with this head-on,' said Williams. 'I got it spelled out completely by an attorney who had been in immigration for 30 years. And my conclusion was: 'I don't want you to travel.' I begged for him not to leave the country. That was not honored.' Williams calls the 'point of no return' a confrontation between the two of them on Valentine's Day. 'There was some paperwork that needed to be handled, and I wanted to bring in some attorneys to represent me, and that was frowned upon,' she revealed. 'And it wasn't really what he said, it was a look—a look that just felt dark. I just knew I was not looking at the same person I loved before. I could tell that he was just pretty much checked out of the relationship at that point.' She filed for divorce eight days later. Check out the full People story here and revisit the original Waiting To Exhale scene from Jussie Smollett Announces Engagement To Boyfriend Jabari Redd: "He Said YES!" Angela Simmons Confirms Yo Gotti Breakup: "I Had To Make A Decision" Porsha Williams Paid Simon Guobadia's Child Support And More Amid ICE Detainment
