What's better than combining eager Halloween-celebrating kids with the elderly who could use some visitors? Why trick-or-treating of course! This idea has been making the rounds and many are sharing their cute TikTok videos to prove the joy. Just this week, Upworthy shared the heartwarming story about a mom who took her daughter (dressed head to toe in princess pink) to a senior care facility, delighting many of the residents. She pranced around with her pumpkin Halloween bucket, into which senior citizens joyfully dropped candy. It inspired many to take part in this wonderful win/win for the elderly and the youth. @karen.channnnn If you haven't gone trick or treating at a nursing or retirement home you're missing out! This is your sign! #retirement #elderly #Love #oldpeople #halloween That said, after the idea also went viral on the subreddit r/MakeMeSmile, some people had concerns. A Redditor, @FinnFarrow, wrote "Such a good idea" and shared a picture of a woman holding an orange sign. It reads: "If you take your children trick-or-treating, please consider taking them by NURSING HOMES. Most of them give out candy, and the residents would love to see the little ones in their costumes. Please stop by and brighten their day! You have no idea how much this means to them!"The comment section exploded, and not in the way one might think. The first is practical advice: "I would recommend contacting the nursing homes prior. I used to work in one, and they allowed it with restrictions." A woman holds up a suggestion for kids on Halloween.Photo Credit: @FinnFarrow, Reddit, Such a good idea : r/MadeMeSmileAnother adds, "Absolutely call beforehand though. I saw a similar post a couple of years ago and called every nursing home in town, and not one allowed trick-or-treating."Some people were kinder in the comments than others. One bluntly points out that having lots of children in their facility could threaten health conditions of the elderly: "I would imagine bringing 100 nose miners into a nursing home during cold and flu season would be bad for residents."Others noted that if such a thing were unexpected, it could be confusing for some of the residents. One gave the example of a man in assisted living who, when walking to the dining hall, saw kids dressed as aliens for Halloween. He did not handle it well. One points out, "It's also very funny seeing the kids try to explain their costumes to the old folks and for the old folks to try to comprehend what characters kids are wearing these days. I don’t even know, and I’m always online." Trick Or Treater gets a lot of candy Giphy GIF by Persona And then there's the logistics of candy. I called my mom, who is in a senior living home, and asked if her facility did this. Her answer was surprising: "I hope not. Where would I even get candy?"But the idea is still a lovely one, at least for some. And if it's something that resonates, here are a few tips for making it work. NOTE THE SENIOR FACILITYThere's a big difference between senior independent living, assisted living, and memory care. It's important to note that before attempting a visit which includes children. Senior independent would probably be the best place to start, as the residents (often) have fewer physical or memory-health issues. CALL AHEADThis might take some time, but call around to different facilities to make sure this is allowed. Usually, this is a planned event on their part, so while they may love the idea, it certainly takes coordination. The site, A Place for Mom can offer a list of nearby residences.OFFER A DONATION Getting out and getting candy (or having the funds to do so) should also be a consideration for something like this. One idea is that once you've established that a facility is hosting an event like this (and/or is open to it), consider offering money to buy the actual candy. Or one could drop the candy off.

Conspiracy theories can be fun for a trip down the rabbit hole or try and debunk. But what about the conspiracy theories that turn out to be true, or, in this case, turn out to be visions of what was coming in the future? Before technology advanced, people had ideas about the future that seemed so far-fetched they could easily be dismissed as conspiracy theories. Some conspiracy theories were so pervasive that they made the news, like Y2K, where seemingly everyone believed the world was going to end on December 31, 1999. People made bunkers in their basements and unplugged all of their electronics in hopes of stopping the inevitable end of the world because computers couldn't handle switching into the new millennium. It was certainly a time to be alive. Clearly, the world didn't end in December of 1999, but there are plenty of wilder-than-fiction conspiracy theories and ideas that turned into reality. What was once only reserved for science fiction movies has now made its way to everyday life. 1. Communicating like a secret spyIn the 1970s, James Bond might have had people shaking their heads when his watch received a message from his handler. That was something unheard of; even Charlie's Angels still had to use a landline phone to receive instructions. Seeing someone carrying on a conversation with someone no one else could see, or watching someone talk and listen to their watch, would've resulted in a trip to a mental institution. The idea was laughable until recently, when smartphones received their companion–Bluetooth devices. Security guard on duty with earpiece and cap.Photo credit: Canva2. The government is listening to our private conversationsMillennials like to joke that they have an FBI agent assigned to secretly spy on them, but it's not far off from the truth. We may not each have our own private FBI or CIA agent assigned to monitor our late-night Amazon shopping sprees, but there have been several times in history when the United States government was caught secretly listening in on citizens' conversations. It happened during the Vietnam Era, which was uncovered during the Watergate scandal, with the most recent discovery being post 9/11, when it was discovered that the National Security Administration was collecting the call information of Verizon phone users. Confused by the phone, she searches for answers.Photo credit: CanvaAccording to the ACLU, "the government reported that in 2011, Section 702 surveillance resulted in the retention of more than 250 million internet communications (a number that does not reflect the far larger quantity of communications whose contents the NSA searched before discarding them). Given the rate at which the number of Section 702 targets is growing, it’s likely that the government today collects over a billion communications under Section 702 each year. But these statistics tell only part of the story. The government has never provided data on the number of Americans who are surveilled under PRISM and Upstream, a number that is surely also increasing."3. Things in our house can hear our thoughtsWhen you say it like that, it sounds pretty kooky, but it's not far-fetched...anymore. Most Americans are wiretapping themselves by having smart devices throughout their homes: smartphones, watches, and computers primed to listen, prompted or not. So while your computer can't read your mind, the devices around you are designed to listen and share targeted ads. These can be based on things you've looked up or chatted about with a friend. Since your contacts are stored in your smartphone, you're also creating a sort of web of interest from the locations you both visit, even if you're not visiting them together. Kids exploring renewable energy with a solar panel and wind turbine model.Photo credit: CanvaSo, no, you're not losing your mind when you talk to your friend about this new shirt at Express, only for a model wearing the same shirt in an Express ad later that night on your social media feed. Cox Media Group secretly admitted to utilizing the microphones of people's devices to target ads, according to 404 Media. The media group in question had big tech clients like Facebook and Google, so this conspiracy theory wasn't all that crazy. These permissions can be tucked into the "Terms & Agreements" that people don't often read.4. Robots and computers are taking over the worldWhen computers first became a household item, people started to become suspicious of these new devices. They went from taking up an entire room to being small enough to fit on desks in offices before eventually making their way into classrooms and homes across the globe. Jobs started to become automated, which caused manufacturing workers to need to learn new skills. While things were stable for decades as computer science careers boomed, technology is now in nearly every aspect of daily life, even mixing baby formula can be automated.There are now robots that deliver food through busy city streets. Robots can even sweep and mop your floor every night so you don't have to. If you don't have hard floors, no worries, those little robots have amazing suction power and will vacuum carpets as well as a full-sized vacuum being pushed around by a human. Of course, computers and robots could never technically take over the world because they need humans to maintain and update them. But automation and artificial intelligence are squeezing white collar workers out of jobs as companies look for other areas they can cut people in exchange for AI or a robot for higher profit margins. 5. There are flying carsTruly, what a time to be alive. Cartoons like The Jetsons, Speed Racer, and Inspector Gadget all had some form of flying cars, whether it was because the car was a spaceship of sorts or if it was due to a secret gadget propelling it into the air. These cartoons were onto something. While a person speculating about having flying cars in the future would've been laughed out of their local barber shop, they're now a thing. Futuristic flying car soaring in a clear blue sky.Photo credit: CanvaAdam Goldstein, the CEO of Archer Aviation is ready for the infrastructure that will support his new vehicle. The company is based out of California and produces electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircrafts, otherwise known as flying cars. The aircraft holds passengers and while it can be compared to a helicopter, it's extremely quiet and looks more like a huge drone. Newsweek reports that these flying cars are best for moving quickly around congested cities, like the 405 in Los Angeles during rush hour.6. Cars drive all by themselvesYep. Even two decade ago people would've thought you had been smoking the devil's lettuce if you claimed to see a car riding around without a driver. Sure, you saw things like that in movies, but the idea was so preposterous that it only worked in the movies. It was something that couldn't be imagined, but it's now a reality. Waymo offered its first passenger a ride in its driverless car in 2015, and, in 2020, it was offering the public driverless rides without someone behind the wheel in case something went wrong. Scenic road trip past wind turbines in driverless carPhoto credit: CanvaTesla also offers a version of this for personal vehicles. The feature is called Full Self-Driving (FSD), which allows the driver of the vehicle to engage the self-driving feature while they supervise. Eyes still must be on the road as the self-driving mode is not fully autonomous like Waymo cars. These features are not without fault, though. One man became stuck in a Waymo as it spun in circles in a parking lot instead of taking him to the airport as requested. The dizzy man had to call Waymo support to get the car to stop. 7. Computer chips are being implanted in people's brainsYes, this still sounds made up. No, it's not a joke. Scientists have found a way to implant computer chips into the brains of humans, but it's not for some weird government mind control. Elon Musk's company Neuralink successfully implanted a thin computer chip into the brain of Noland Arbaugh, a 30-year-old from Arizona who became paralyzed from the shoulders down after a diving accident, according to the BBC. The chip in his brain helps him control the computer with his mind. Merging minds and machines: the future of brain-computer interfaces.Photo credit: Canva"It is what is known as a brain computer interface (BCI) - which works by detecting the tiny electrical impulses generated when humans think about moving, and translating these into digital command, such as moving a cursor on a screen," the BBC writes.Neuralink is not the first or only computer chip implanted in someone's brain. Elon Musk is more well known, but he and his company are not the pioneers to this technology. In 2010, NeuroLife implanted a chip in Ian Burkhart's brain that helped him regain movement and independence after hitting his head on a sandbar in the Atlantic Ocean. The field is crowded with scientists racing to be the one to solve serious mobility, mental, and physical health conditions with the right tweaks to a computer chip. 8. Someone can clone you without your knowledgeThis one may seem a bit out there, but with the rise of AI, people can take a photo or video of other people and put them in precarious situations. The new software technology may seem fun, but there have already been instances where it was used to create inappropriate images and videos of celebrities. Double take: Two beanie-wearing men point at each other.Photo credit: CanvaNow that it's as simple as uploading a picture and typing a prompt, people can find themselves throwing a tantrum in a grocery store they've never actually visited. Video of someone going on a racist tirade or committing a crime can also be easily conjured up on a computer with a few clicks without consideration of the consequences if the AI image is taken seriously. While Sora is currently most popularly used app for this sort of AI spoofing, it's User Agreement says to only use photos you have consent to use. But ill intention can override the intended purpose of the app as some people have found. 9. Aliens are real, and the government has been hiding themWell, are there aliens? There may never be a true answer on this one, but an ex-NASA employee spoke to media confirming the existence of aliens. People have suspected for decades that the United States government has been hiding aliens in Roswell, New Mexico. There was even a television show all about aliens who looked like every day teenagers called Roswell. Americans are invested in the little green men...or grey men? Or maybe aliens that look just like humans? Was Men in Black a documentary?Dr. Gregory Rogers, former NASA Chief Flight Surgeon and a U.S. Air Force major, told Newsweek that he saw a "flying saucer" in a Cape Canaveral hanger in 1993. During a congressional hearing in 2023, former Defense Department employee David Grusch claimed to have seen remains of pilots inside of an unidentified flying object that were non-human. NASA disputes this claim by pointing to the lack of evidence.

For many of us, we've hit a point where the "stars are just like us" trope has become cringe-inducing. The world has much more on its delicate plate than what sushi an A/B-list movie star ate at Nobu.That said, hearing that fellow humans (famous or not) act especially kind to others can be uplifting. Sure, it's something we all should do, and no one should get a medal for being "nice." But there's still a little magic in movies, music, and art in general, and there's definitely some inspiration to be had from the people who create that magic.I've been a radio entertainment reporter, among other gigs in the business, for the last (gasp) 20 years. This has put me in rooms, for better or for worse, with some of the most famous people on earth. While a few were "grumpy," others were so genuinely warmhearted that they truly exceeded my expectations. (I wrote whole stories about the bright lights that are Dolly Parton and Robin Williams.) Most of these people are known to be super engaging, but a few might be a tad shocking.So here are a few of the good ones… RUSSELL CROWE Russell Crowe in The Gladiator www.flickr.com, Ron Frazier We'll start with perhaps the most surprising: Randomly, I was in Mexico with some friends when we stumbled upon the cast and crew party for one of Crowe's movies. We'd all heard about his reputation, so we were delighted when he sent a round of margaritas to our table. We wound up talking to him for hours about life, love, and all things in between. He seemed incredibly spiritual, thoughtful, and extremely funny. (Also, my shoe kept coming untied and every time, he'd bend down and tie it.) CAROL BURNETT / AMY POEHLER Carol Burnett and Amy Poehler on a press junket. www.youtube.com, Cecily Knobler, Good Day Sacramento I had the honor of interviewing Carol Burnett and her co-star Amy Poehler for a press junket in support of an animated film they'd worked on called The Secret World of Arrietty. They went out of their way to put me at ease, as I was so painfully green at interviewing. My hands were shaking, and I think they both noticed. They acted like I had good questions and just made me feel wonderful, despite my nerves. TOM HANKS Tom Hanks at the 1989 Governor's Ball.Photo Credit: Alan Light, Wiki Commons This one isn't unexpected. At the premiere of Hanks's film Charlie Wilson's War, my friend stopped him to ask if he could wish his buddy a "Happy Hanks-giving" on his iPhone. I died a little inside and said, "No, Mr. Hanks, you don't have to do that." But to no one's shock, Hanks replied, "Of course." Not only did he do one take, he did three until he got it just right! LARRY DAVID See on Instagram The thing about Larry is that he is unmistakably, unapologetically Larry. At a different premiere—ironically, also for a Tom Hanks movie—my date and I were picking at the after-party food. Larry was sitting alone, so we asked him to join us. He immediately began joking that he hated how the food at the after-party had to be thematically linked to the movie itself. He then asked, "Where do you think Tom Hanks is?" We told him, "Probably in the VIP section," to which he replied, "There's a VIP section? See ya!" We all laughed, and he winked as he left to go find it. He did turn back and say, "Nice to meet you," and we agreed! (Now, I know some might argue that an ultra-kind guy would take us with him. But this is Larry David, and we'd have been disappointed if he had.) DIANE KEATON See on Instagram The recent passing of Keaton was a tough one. She was always one of my favorites, not just as an actress, but for her strength and individualistic style. For some reason, I was once invited to a party at songwriter Carole Bayer Sager's house. Keaton was there, and my friend embarrassed me by introducing us with, "Diane, you should meet Cecily. She's really funny too." I immediately said, "Oh no, I'm nothing." And she gave me the most inspiring speech about having pride every step of the way. Also, she spilled a little champagne as she was talking, and we both laughed about it for quite some time. WEIRD AL See on Instagram In another life, I was a story producer and writer on a TV show called Cupcake Wars. I wrote "jokes" for the guests who appeared on the show, one of whom was Weird Al Yankovic. Clad in his signature Hawaiian shirt, he read my jokes, and after the cameras stopped rolling, said, "These are great. Well done!" I'm not sure the puns about frosting were all that "well done," but it was nice of him to be so publicly supportive. NICOLE KIDMAN Nicole Kidman in 2012 commons.wikimedia.org, Photo Credit: Eva Rinaldi There's just something wonderful about Australians. At a reception honoring the film Lion at the British Consulate, I was introduced to Kidman and expected a quick hello and perhaps a picture. We wound up chatting for 15 minutes, and what I found extra nice was she (and co-star Dev Patel) went out of their way to ask questions about me. We spoke for quite some time, and she was gentle and inquisitive. PAUL NEWMAN Paul Newman in 1958. commons.wikimedia.org, Unknown author, dedicated to Bettmann Archive At 22, I found myself working as waitstaff for a catering company at the Governor's Ball following the Academy Awards. (Man, I've had some interesting jobs.) As I was trying to shimmy in between two tables, Paul happened to be walking in the opposite direction and stepped on my foot. Of course, being me, I apologized to him, and he said, with those blue eyes sparkling, "I stepped on your foot, little lady! I'm the one who's sorry!" He then smiled, and my heart absolutely melted. GEORGE CARLIN See on Instagram My dad, a radio guy, had the pleasure of working with the late, great Carlin at a radio station in Texas in the 1960s. They always remained friendly through the years, although lost touch later in life. Cut to: I'm co-hosting on KZLA (a now-defunct country radio station in Los Angeles), and Carlin came in to plug his book. He heard my last name, and his eyes welled up with tears. "Are you related to (my dad's name)?" he asked. He then warmly regaled me with the neatest stories and inside jokes from his time working with my father. He took quite a lot of time from his own press to make me feel special. HENRY WINKLER Henry Winkler as The Fonz in Happy Days 1976.J commons.wikimedia.org, ABC Television And now for the least surprising in terms of exceptionally nice people. Another pal was a segment producer and writer on one of Winkler's game shows, and she invited me to come have lunch in the greenroom on the CBS lot. Winkler was behind me in line for potato salad, and my buddy introduced us. He said, and I quote, "Can I call you Cec?!" I said I would love that. He then hugged me, picked me up, spun me around, and said, "Hi, Cec! You're welcome here anytime." Over on Reddit, someone asked, "Who's the nicest famous person you've met?" and 1.5 thousand people replied. Many of the honors went to well-known nice folks like Robin Williams, Adam Sandler (which I can also attest to), Hugh Jackman, Reba, Keanu Reeves, and Lady Gaga.But a couple of stories stood out:"Paul Rudd. Went out of his way to be super kind to me and my friend, gave us autographs and pictures, and chatted for a long time, and even offered to share a cab back down to Times Square (which, of course, we said yes to). 1000/10 amazing human being.""Muhammad Ali was probably the nicest famous person I've met. I cooked him food, and he was very thankful and kind to me for doing so. I still remember his hands engulfing mine when he shook my hand and thanked me so clearly."

Zappa "just couldn't tolerate" these unwelcome visitors from back East. The post The band that split opinions among Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

This is the new AOC? Yikes.

This is the new AOC? Yikes.

For two centuries, Americans have dreamed of pushing our borders northward, from the War of 1812 to the globalist fantasies of the twentieth century. Each time, our national brothers and sisters in red have resisted. In short, Canada is not the United States of America. A campaign-season visit this April to the Canada Strong and Free Conference — the Far North’s equivalent of CPAC — led me to ponder the American Right’s renewal of the argument that Canada ought to be part of our country. Subscribe to The American Spectator to receive our fall 2025 print magazine. Stereotypes are generally acknowledged to carry kernels of fact. Most Americans observe that Canadians are less outgoing and less likely to ask strangers for directions. In this age, the observation of culture has become taboo, yet there was a time when culture was not merely whispered about in fear of enraging some mob lurking in the dark corners of BlueSky, but was subjected to genuine study and analysis. Understanding the meaning of culture may help Americans understand the unspoken divide between ourselves and Canada.  The Germans, most famously Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and his successors, popularized the international usage of the term geist and finally zeitgeist. The first: “ghost” or, more commonly in modern parlance, “spirit.” The second: “spirit of the age.” Less remembered is the equally important Volksgeist or Nationalgeist, the spirit of a people or nation. Although Hegel brought it to international renown, it was the historian Johann Gottfried Herder who developed this concept. Other Germans labeled it a Nationalcharakter, a term that needs no translation for the English speaker. Subscribe to The American Spectator to receive our latest print magazine. The Volksgeist and its study were thoroughly slain in the twentieth century. The term’s most notable offshoot, Völkerpsychologie, or folk psychology, sustained attacks both from the barbaric Nazis — who cared about race and blood, not culture — and the relativistic Left. Among relativists, the rejection of Völkerpsychologie can be viewed as part of the broader trend that Leo Strauss identified as the rise of the fact–value distinction. While relativist social scientists would posit facts, such as data about foods consumed or innovations made, they would never make cultural judgments or posit moral claims. The study of a Volksgeist requires asking what vicious brutality drove the Indians to burn their widows until British courage stood between sobbing wives and funeral pyres or, more pertinently today, considering the ability of certain imported cultures to wage war upon Western values on Western soil.  What Is the American Zeitgeist? The American spirit captures the Protestant work ethic in a sense. However, cultural surveys have found for decades with remarkable consistency that the United States scores closer to Catholic Europe and much of Latin America than to Protestant Europe in its cultural values and ability to adhere to tradition. Americans held onto higher birth rates and greater religiosity than the rest of the Protestant West, and we continue to cling to both as the scourges of modernity reach the traditional Catholic world. Americans and Canadians would be best served by remembering the separate but complementary venerable legacies we honor. The American spirit is difficult to pin down exactly, but we all recognize it in Ulysses S. Grant, Douglas MacArthur, and Betsy Ross. It includes individualism, saucy courage, and a willingness to tread where others have not dared, be that the beaches of Normandy or the face of the Moon.  We do not dub the plucky courage of Napoleon “the American spirit.” A brave spirit he may have had, but he was not American. That America venerates heroes who died with liberty and union on their lips, while Canada venerates heroes who died with a prayer for the soul of the queen, is relevant not just in the abstract, but in making Americans American and Canadians Canadian.  Rendering “geist” in English as “spirit” rather than “ghost” may have been a mistake. The souls of our nations are, in a sense, born of ghosts: the historical figures, events, and ideas we regard with awe to tell us who we are. The Lost Canadian Zeitgeist The renewed prominence of the idea of annexing Canada to the United States may be an outgrowth of the postnationalism fostered by wokeness. The Canadian Left has insisted to the world that the hundreds of thousands of Punjabis who have found their way into Canada by questionably legal means are as Canadian as moose and maple syrup, a phenomenon similar enough to recent American developments.  By Bill Wilson for The American Spectator This is why the nationalism displayed recently by the Canadian Left comes off so bizarrely. They realize that Canada is different but seek to purge it of all the things that make Canada itself. They give no honor to the British character of the nation, for colonial history is shamed. They give no honor to Canada’s legacy of high churchmanship, for Christianity is purged from the public square. And they give no honor to the unique blend of Englishness and Frenchness that built Canada, for each newly imported group has to be seen as an entirely equal partner in a national project that they were not present for.  The history of Canada, which traces back to French colonists and their anti-revolutionary British North American neighbors, reflects a different set of historical ghosts than that of the United States. Those ghosts have produced a distinctly Canadian present. Monarchy and aristocracy are baked into Canada to a greater degree, a fact that inspires both Canadians’ famed politeness and the lack of emphasis on the boldness of the American spirit. To Americans, social mobility trumps all, while Canada has no equivalent of the American Dream. Separate but Complementary Legacies Both the United States and Canada are nations of the New World. This means that our nations transcend race. We are bound by our shared cultural memories. Others have always been welcome to adopt our forefathers as their own and, in Lincoln’s words, link themselves with an “electric cord,” thereby joining the body politic of the nation. Millions of Irish, Italians, Latinos, and others have become as thoroughly American as the black and white Anglo-Saxons who largely composed us at our founding. Thousands of Ukrainians and Indians (the present unchecked wave notwithstanding) have become as thoroughly Canadian as the French and British who formed Canada. By joining the body politic, these immigrants abandoned loyalties elsewhere and adopted the doyens of their respective nations as their own forefathers. As we Americans struggle to recover deserved awe for our own history, we would do well to remember how it sets us apart from our beloved neighbors in Canada. Rather than deepening the disaster of national forgetfulness, both Americans and Canadians would be best served by remembering the separate but complementary venerable legacies we honor. Subscribe to The American Spectator to receive our fall 2025 print magazine.