During the debate between President Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the topic of the Biden Administration’s failed Afghanistan withdrawal came up. Harris, who at times during the debate tried to distance…

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When the Work From Home era began, many of us got excited at the possibility of being able to maybe, juuuust maybe, keep our home a little cleaner by doing some sprucing up in between productivity sprints. But alas, reality has set in. Instead, there’s the constant distraction of messes that need to be cleaned up, items that aren’t where they should be, piles upon piles of stuff that seem to appear out of nowhere. All of this goes double for WFH folks with kids. And being more aware of clutter is no doubt one of the main reasons why cleaning hacks are all the rage on social media. Besides the fact that there’s just something so primally satisfying about watching stain removal. One super easy hack, created by a mom and therapist who goes by @aestetically_ally_ on TikTok, is being hailed as the “ultimate” decluttering method, particularly for moms. (But really, this could work for anyone). “If you’re looking for a busy working mom hack to keep your sh*t together during the day, during the week and not feel totally overwhelmed and overstimulated when you walk into your house, keep listening,” Ally says at the top of her clip. “I can’t stand having a dirty house or a messy house. For me, that is my overstimulation nightmare.” And this is where the “cleaning cart” comes in. Ally then shows a simple, white rolling cart with three shelves—something you’ve definitely seen at a staples or Ikea. The idea is you can roll this cart around your home and pick up any debris that’s taking up unnecessary spaces. Toys, crafts, shoes, hoodies, etc. Then you place the cart up against a wall. And voila, a clutter free house in minutes. Ally adds the caveat that “obviously we’re going to have to put those things away.”But still, she affirms that “t is so much nicer to just not have those things cluttering all of the flat surfaces in your house.” “It helps so much with that overstimulated feeling that you get when you have to come in after a crazy busy day and have to start taking care of everybody and everything,” she says. @aesthetically_ally_ Mom hack. Lmk if you try! #cleaninghacks #cleanhouse ♬ original sound - Aesthetically Ally Down in the comments, people were totally on board with the idea. Many already did a form of it with laundry baskets, but really loved the ability to wheel the junk around. A few even wanted to go above and beyond by labeling each section with a family’s member’s name, so that it made reorganizing easier later. Still, a few shared concerns that this could easily become “doom piles,” or "Didn't Organize, Only Moved” piles, commonly associated with people dealing with ADD/ADHD, which never actually get sorted and become more overwhelming in the long run. However, an article from Real Simple has some expert backed tips to keep those piles from taking over, which can be helpful for those in the ADD/ ADHD community, or just folks trying to avoid bigger messes. One trick is to keep a small, manageable sized basket, and to not let it overflow. This is where a small, compact cleaning cart could really shine. Other suggestions include using a timer and emptying out the cart or basket in 15 minute increments, or implementing a reward system for emptying out said cart. Essentially, creating easy-to-accomplish, bite sized tasks, and finding a way to associate with something pleasing. A good basis for any goal, really. Perhaps in an ideal world we wouldn’t need things like cleaning carts. But we live in reality. And reality is messy. We are all just doing our best to juggle multiple, simultaneous responsibilities while holding onto our sanity. If rolling a cart around and throwing junk in it helps that cause, even just a little, then it’s probably worth trying. By the way, Ally has more tips where that came from, which you can find by following her on TikTok.

A father of 2 who recently sent his last child off to college had the new reality hit him like a ton of bricks while visiting the supermarket. The realization came when he saw parents picking out Halloween pumpkins with their kids and he was at the store alone. “I used to pick out pumpkins with my kids,” Jeff Pearlman said on TikTok. “And I'm here and I see dads and moms with their kids in the cart and it used to be me with my kids in the cart. And, it actually hit me really hard, that the house is empty and little things that you take for granted as a parent. Taking your kids to the supermarket.” Jeff Pearlman is the New York Times best-selling author of 10 books, including "The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Times of Bo Jackson" and "Showtime," which was turned into "Winning Time," a hit HBO series. He also hosts a podcast, “Two Writers Slinging Yang.” Pearlman used the moment to remind other parents that they would soon be in the same position and should appreciate having children in the house while they can. @jeffpearlmanauthor Empty nester blues: A very real (and sad) thing. #emptynesters #emptynest #freebirds #sadness #college #writersoftiktok “Maybe it seems like a pain in the a** in the moment,” Pearlman admitted. “You’d rather just leave them at home or whatever. But now I'm here by myself in the supermarket. And there's not that much to buy actually because I don't have two kids at home anymore ... and I'm looking at Halloween candy, but they're not going to give a crap. They're not here.” “It just changes everything and it is an adjustment,” Pearlman continued. “I just want to say, if you live with your kids at home, please appreciate them and understand it goes very fast.” Upworthy spoke with Pearlman and asked him if he could have better prepared himself for the empty-nester blues. “I don’t think it’s possible to truly prepare,” he told Upworthy. “You pack everything up and say your goodbyes. But then you’re left with this void. It’s jarring. The only thing that helps is time, natural readjustment, and the knowledge that they’re happy, which is how it’s supposed to be. I remind myself all the time that it would be much sadder if my kids were home and unmotivated.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jeff Pearlman (@jeff_pearlman) The video struck a chord with many people on TikTok, where it’s been seen over 400,000 times. "I bought my son’s favorite snacks yesterday and didn’t even realize until I got home. Started sobbing," KMD wrote in the comments. "I’m still not over it! I just told my daughter today that I’d kill to be making their school lunches again. I used to hate it and now I miss it so much," Corinne added. "I’m in the same boat. It’s the most painful thing I’ve ever felt. I feel lost but hoping it gets easier," Arblc20 admitted. What is empty nest syndrome? Empty nest syndrome is a "normal feeling," Amy Morin, LCSW, writes. She says it's defined by a loss of purpose and frustration over a lack of control. It can cause anxiety and marital stress. But the good news is that, in time, most parents will get over the feeling and embrace the new phase in life. "With time, having an empty nest will get easier. You'll get used to your child being in charge of their own life and you will develop a new sense of normal in your life," Morwin writes. Dan Brennan, MD, says that new empty-nesters should focus on the positives of having a child-free home. He recommends that empty-nesters take advantage of their free time by taking classes, making a few extra dollars by starting a part-time job or volunteering for an organization they care about. “Realize that your role as a parent has changed, not ended,” he writes at WebMD. The commenters noted that the pain of being an empty nester often evolves into the joy of being a grandparent. “Once my parents became grandparents, their purpose came back and the light in their eyes,” kearraarose wrote. “I think this is why grandkids are so fun to enjoy … we know it doesn’t last,” juliabbell added. Pearlman had difficulty making it through the Halloween-themed supermarket after dropping his last child off at college. But being an empty-nester isn’t all pain and suffering. “I have full usage of my car again,” he told Upworthy. “And the steering wheel is clean.”

“Heavy Metal was huge." The post The metal band Stone Gossard called “perfect” for Seattle first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

It’s never a surprise, or at least shouldn’t be, when someone goes on at the age of 93. Father Time, after all, is undefeated. But this one really hurts. As actuarially sound as the event may have been, my wife and I were still jolted and more than a little saddened Monday night while preparing dinner to hear of the death of the great James Earl Jones, a giant of the stage and screen, and a giant soul. As lives go, Jones was at least in double OT. But we would gladly have waited a bit longer to say goodbye to him. (READ MORE: Willie Mays, the Game’s Greatest, RIP) There seems to be an Obit Writers Union work rule requiring, at the passing of any public figure, that the dearly departed be described as one of a kind, a giant in his (her) field, who will be greatly mourned and missed. It ain’t always so. But all these accolades do apply to Jones A Man of Many Voices    Jones was not a physical giant, though impressive enough at 6-2 and north of 200 pounds. Not possessed of leading man looks — he wasn’t Denzel Washington — it was his immense talent (that booming bass voice that could project any mood) and an almost magical screen presence that commanded the viewer’s attention. Hard to watch anyone else when Jones was on the screen. Since his death Monday at his home in Dutchess County, New York (no cause of death has been given), print and broadcast tributes have mentioned his better known roles — the voices of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise and Mufasa in The Lion King, as well as the reclusive writer in Field of Dreams and the admiral in Hunt For Red October and in the spook operas with Harrison Ford that followed. (READ MORE: Hollywoke Heroes and Movies We’ll Never See) I enjoyed these. But my favorites of Jones’ work tend to be the more subtle roles where his characters embody the intelligence, good humor, tolerance, charity, and respectful courtesy that are the soul of civilization and make life worth living. I raise up such as: The Sandlot, What the Deaf Man Heard, Cry, the Beloved Country, The Reading Room, and A Family Thing. This last pairs Jones with Robert Duvall, two of America’s finest actors at the top of their considerable games. They take the most unlikely idea — James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall as brothers (not just friends, but actual blood brothers) and make it watchable, amusing, even in places enlightening, if never quite believable. We Owe Jones’ High School English Teacher a Debt of Gratitude Jones’ long and successful career, considering his unpromising start, is just as unlikely as any role he ever played. He was born to a poor family, which his father abandoned before James Earl was even born, in Akabutla, Mississippi, a wide place in the road in the shadow of the Tennessee border, inhabited today be fewer than 300 souls. By the time he was six, his mother also left, leaving young James Earl to be cared for by her parents in rural Dublin, Michigan. Jones described his grandmother — part Cherokee, Choctaw, and black — as racist and bigoted, often ranting against white people for slavery and their treatment of blacks, and at blacks and Indians for allowing it. (READ MORE: A Little-Known Film Is a John Wayne Gem) In all this turmoil, it’s no surprise that young James Earl developed a stutter. That future voice of voices eventually went silent as James Earl went mute for several years. He only came out of his shell with the help of a high school English teacher, who saw talent in his pupil and encouraged him to read poetry aloud to the class. (This teacher deserves a medal and our gratitude.) An interest in theater soon followed, as did a degree in drama from the University of Michigan. After two years in the Army in the mid-50s as a commissioned officer, when there were few black officers, Jones was off to New York where he tread the boards in theater for several years before, at 33, his first role on the silver screen. This was as the navigator in the ill-fated B-52 in Stanley Kubrick’s Doctor Strangelove of 1964. This was a smallish role as the only sane person on a screen full of whack jobs. And who could guess from it what riches were to follow? RIP James Earl Jones. Thank you for the hours of viewing pleasure that I, and millions of others, have enjoyed from watching your work. The post RIP James Earl Jones: A Great American Voice, A Great American Life appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.