When circumstances drive you to leave the land of your birth to try and make it in a new country, there are important and daunting challenges. These include finding housing, arranging for medical needs, and procuring a good piece of celery that doesn't wilt over sadly when you hold it up. Martinis will also factor heavily in your mind. Joanna McIsaac-Kierklo, 74, and her husband Ed Kierklo, 75, had a retirement dream: leave San Francisco with their Birmin cat Suzette and start fresh in the charming streets of France. They wanted the “bon vivant” life. A year later, they’re waving the white flag and booking a ticket back to California with a list of complaints that reads more like a parody of expat privilege than actual hardship. “I miss frozen yogurt… I miss my friends… I miss my apartment.” — Joanna McIsaac-Kierklo The French dream that came after the English dream For Joanna and Ed, who retired from lucrative careers and traveled the world extensively, picking up and moving wasn’t new. In the waning days of the pandemic, they leveraged the equity in their California home, got themselves vaccinated, and gave life in London a chance. They didn't go alone, though. Their Birmin cat, Suzette, came too, to the tune of over $4,000. That adventure lasted 11 months before they came home. No word on what Suzette's return ticket cost. It wasn’t long before they dreamt of Europe again, this time to stay. They imagined a life full of baguettes, wine, and village charm. So, back into the carrier went Suzette, this time for an extra $5,000. But after arriving in Nîmes, a quaint city in Southern France, Joanna and Ed quickly found expat life wasn’t the vacation they’d pictured. “Every single day it was something more devastating than the day before,” Joanna told CNN. The lovely city of Nîmes, in Southern France, where we're told the celery leaves something to be desired. Ymblanter French cuisine is celebrated, but Joanna quickly grew disenchanted. “People go, ‘Oh my god, the French food is so fabulous,’” she said. “Yeah, if you want to eat brie, pâté, pastries, and French bread all day long… but who eats like that?” Seeking fresher options, she turned to the market. “You pick up a piece of celery, and it falls over,” she complained, decrying the “limp” state of French greens. “We gave it a year here. And we just said, ‘Too much grief and no joy.’ There’s no fun. We’re struggling every day.” — Joanna McIsaac-Kierklo The couple’s frustration reached a boiling point. Between government paperwork, language barriers, and their limited French, Joanna and Ed felt a world away from the lifestyle they’d imagined. “I honestly don’t think we could have put in any more effort to acclimatize to the French way of life,” she said. Friends? Oui. Friendships? Not so much. Adjusting to a new social scene in France was another challenge. Used to the easy-going connections of San Francisco, Joanna found French locals polite but reserved. “I haven’t talked to one person here in three months,” she admitted. “They’re nice people,” she said, “but they’re also very private. It’s a hard shell to break.” via GIPHY They’d left home to find community and new perspectives, only to feel more isolated as time wore on. The retirement dream doesn’t always go as planned Joanna and Ed aren’t alone in their struggles. For Kate and Dan Morse, a dream retirement in Portugal turned unexpectedly complicated, despite careful planning. They made it three years before returning to the U.S., realizing that expat life came with unique challenges, even in a beautiful location. “It's not as easy to be an expat in Portugal as people seem to think,” said Kate Morse, 71. While the couple loved Portugal’s natural beauty, affordability, and rich history, they found it difficult to navigate banking, healthcare, and local customs without fluency in Portuguese. "When you can’t defend yourself and make yourself understood, you’re vulnerable." — Kate Morse Although they’d learned some Portuguese, communicating in a crisis—or even managing their finances—was frustrating without native-level skills. The Morses’ experience highlights that, for many would-be expats, adjusting to a new culture can mean confronting unexpected limitations and reconsidering priorities. Like Joanna and Ed, they realized that sometimes, the comforts of home and a supportive community make all the difference. Au revoir, French fantasy—hello, Plan B Unlike many immigrants, Joanna and Ed had a fallback. Learning from their London experience, they held onto a rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco. Now, after a year overseas, it’s time to head home. “You’ve got to have a Plan B,” Joanna said. Looking back, Joanna has no regrets about trying life in France. But she reminds would-be expats that the basics—good produce, friends, and familiar comforts—can be easier to come by back home. “Moving to France for a slower life sounds wonderful,” she said, “but we learned the not-so-pleasant side very quickly.” No word yet on what Suzette's trip home will cost.

A muse for the Beach Boys' magnum opus. The post The “coolest” album of all time, according to Brian Wilson first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

"What are you gonna do?” The post “I hate them”: The band Robert Plant described as ‘Led Zeppelin One’  first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

"It's deceptively simple." The post “It is demanding”: The song Neil Peart was most satisfied with first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

As I sit here in my library, with the sun streaming again, I cannot help but think that it is once again morning in America. My chair is under the portrait of Abraham Lincoln, which his son, Robert Todd Lincoln, gave to my great-great grandfather, a Secret Service officer, in gratitude for his foiling a serious plot to steal the body of Old Abe. I have no doubt that Donald Trump is capable of upholding the high standards that our Republic demands. Trump had four years to reflect on how his first term went, and now he has been shown the path to a tarnish-free future. Over the last months, it is obvious that Trump made a decision to model his future presidency on Ronald Reagan, from the Lee Greenwood anthem to the theme of “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” This is not news to me. I had known it all along, as I most recently wrote in these pages a few weeks ago. There, I predicted a massive Trump surge sweeping him back into power. I had spotted this talent, predicting his victory long before he clinched it in his surprising 2016 win, back when he was the greenhorn Republican who had never run for anything before. In 2013, when I met Donald for the first time, he showed me that he would be a successful politician. Having known seven presidents, I was sure that he would win. He was not like any politician I have ever known — smart, aggressive, and a true iconoclastic showman plus a strategist — my kind of guy. Polls have shown that Trump’s qualities as a strong leader won him many votes, especially among men, particularly African Americans and Hispanics. In terms of tactics, what made the difference? Two things. First, his genius in donning a McDonald’s apron to flip burgers, encored by his brilliant parade in a gleaming white garbage truck emblazoned with the name TRUMP on its side. He wore a safety vest! Symbols of serving the people! Second, he got to the core of the economy issue by mirroring Reagan’s insightful query about whether “you are better off than you were four years before.” Trump is now aspiring to take us back toward “the shining city upon a hill,” as Ronald Reagan said often, most notably in his farewell address to the nation in 1989. An early freedom seeker and pilgrim, John Winthrop, wrote that phrase to describe the America he imagined. Like most of us, Winthrop was looking for a home that would be free. In Ronald Reagan’s mind, the shining city was “a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity.” Donald Trump is for freedom, that most dear of American values. So was Ronald Reagan. Trump has more gifts to deploy to propel America to greater glory, through his boundless energy and resonant voice, both being gifts from God, who surely had a hand in this landslide we are witnessing. Here’s to Donald! It is morning in America again. The post Trump’s Morning in America appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Kamala Harris, a candidate who proved herself capable of saying anything to win, appears at a loss for words upon her defeat. Though the outcome appeared as a fait accompli overnight, Harris went through the night and the next morning without conceding. She reportedly looks to deliver a speech, hopefully conceding defeat and offering a congratulations, at 4 p.m. to the man she labeled a “fascist” just a few days ago. NBC News, which seemed a campaign auxiliary at times, claims both Harris and President Joe Biden plan to call Trump to offer congratulations. But the article noting that the congratulations come in the future implicitly admits that neither politician has bothered to call Trump at this point. Even a prank call would be better than this sore-loser silence. In 2016, Hillary Clinton at least displayed conciliation by wearing purple and concede defeat the next morning. This followed, apparently, an uneasy night of object-throwing and creative use of all the four-letter words in the dictionary (and a few not yet found there). “Sources have told The American Spectator that on Tuesday night, after Hillary realized she had lost, she went into a rage,” R. Emmett Tyrrell reported. “Secret Service officers told at least one source that she began yelling, screaming obscenities, and pounding furniture. She picked up objects and threw them at attendants and staff. She was in an uncontrollable rage.” John Podesta told supporters that they needed to count all the votes. But one could count all the tears from her supporters to see the end credits. Ditto for the tears at Howard University last night. The networks kept refusing to call various states as the images they displayed showed Harris supporters conceding with their tears. Even when a CNN reporter told a stunned Jake Tapper and John King on the air that Georgia officials reported just 100,000 votes left to count as Trump held a 118,000-vote lead, the network took its time to call that state. Harris’ cheerleaders put it off. Now she does, too. Would she have taken as long to announce her victory as she does in conceding her defeat? Recall, of course, that the vice president took 39 days to grant an interview to the press once her campaign started. The masochistic Fourth Estate repaid her by alternating coverage between massage and smooch settings. And today they tell us she lost not because of anything she did or did not do but instead because racism and sexism plagues American voters. Hopefully, for both the sake of the country and her political future, she offers a more gracious congratulations to the victors. The post Kamala’s Conceited Cunctatious Concession appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The duo, White Stripes, hailed from Detroit in the late ’90s. Former Country/Rock drummer (with Goober and the Peas) turned guitarist/vocalist, Jack White (born John “Jack” Anthony Gillis) and drummer Meg White used Punk and Blues as their base while incorporating Folk and Art Rock. The idea for White Stripes was to create simple, basic Rock. Done.Jack and Meg were married briefly with Jack taking the relatively unusual step of adopting his wife’s name. For reasons best kept between them the couple divorced but maintained their working relationship. Debut album “White Stripes” came out in ’99 and was supported by a North American tour. Sophomore release “DeStijl” hit the following year as the duo toured Japan and Australia. ’01 saw the release of “White Blood Cells” containing the popular and highly lauded track “Fell In Love With A Girl.“ Fell In Love With A Girl Two years later, Jack and Meg released the acclaimed “Elephant,” containing the hypnotic hit “Seven Nation Army.” “I wanted to put ‘Seven Nation Army’ out as a single,” White said in a radio interview years later. “The label in England and the label in America both didn’t want to. They wanted to put ‘There’s No Home For You Here’.” Fortunately, White got his way. Seven Nation Army White produced Country legend Loretta Lynn’s highly acclaimed and Grammy winning “Van Leer Rose” album. This project led to a timely revelation. “I felt embarrassed that I wasn’t hitting these notes,” said White. “So I stopped lying to myself that the smoking wasn’t doing it.” He quit cold turkey.White also contributed songs to the Bluegrass oriented “Cold Mountain” soundtrack, which starred ex-girlfriend, Renee Zegweller. Jack ended up marrying model Karen Elson in Brazil. Meg served as maid of honor.Any fears that Jack had gone Country quickly disappeared with the release of “Get Behind Me Satan,” in ’05, featuring the pulsating first single, “Blue Orchid.” Elson appeared in the video.Starting the Raconteurs with fellow Detroit native Brendan Benson was Jack’s next adventure. Though initially labeled as a “supergroup” the band dismissed the tag stating they were actually “a new band made up of old friends.” The group released “Broken Boy Soldiers” in May, ’06, and went on tour. Some were concerned that this new venture spelled the end for the White Stripes (people are always fretting about this band). No worries, Jack and Meg returned in ’07 with “Icky Thump” which earned two Grammy awards the following year: Alternative Music Album and Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. White also participated in the documentary “It Might Get Loud” with fellow guitarists Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) and The Edge (U2) which premiered at the ’08 Toronto Film Festival.Two years later, another documentary “Under Great White Northern Lights” was available on DVD, CD and vinyl as part of a limited-edition box set. The Emmett Malloy-directed film chronicled the band’s ’07 Canadian tour. Though White Stripes had been on hiatus since ’07 their final live performance occurred in ‘09 when they appeared on the final episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Inevitably, White Stripes announced on 02/02/11 that they had disbanded. “The reason is not due to artistic differences or lack of wanting to continue, nor any health issues as both Meg and Jack are feeling fine and in good health,” said the band’s statement. “It is for a myriad of reasons, but mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band.” ### The post White Stripes appeared first on RockinTown.

Pfizer's Headquarters right now after realizing RFK Jr. will soon control the public health agencies. pic.twitter.com/NGwVTP638G — John Kulak Kramlich (@jkramlich) November 6, 2024

by Paul Craig Roberts, Paul Craig Roberts: On November 3, I wrote about Meredith Furbish, a truth-suppressor for the Atlantic Council. https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2024/11/04/the-final-days-of-the-lie-machine/  She misrepresented my documentation of rulings by federal judges, state judges, Justice (sic) Department and Homeland Security (sic) officials, and state and local Democrat election officials, which legalized the vote theft mechanisms used illegally in […]

by Ethan Huff, Natural News: The Election Fairness Institute (EFI) has uncovered a massive money laundering scheme taking place at ActBlue, a left-wing political action committee (PAC) shilling for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. While looking into a widely known money laundering scheme at ActBlue called “smurfing,” the EFI identified 422 identical contributions to the PAC, all […]