This week’s arctic cold snap has The Spectacle host Melissa Mackenzie wrapped in a scarf in her Texas home and co-host Scott McKay in a fedora to protect his ears — and it also has charging stations in Chicago turning into electric-vehicle graveyards. On today’s episode‚ Melissa and Scott discuss the impact cold weather has on electric vehicles and the benefits of having gas-powered stoves‚ heaters‚ fireplaces‚ and vehicles in both colder climates and hurricane-prone southern states. (READ MORE on cars: Biden’s Bureaucrats Outlaw Humor on the Highway) Order Scott’s new book‚ Racism‚ Revenge and Ruin: It’s All Obama‚ here. Read Scott’s and Melissa’s writing here and here. Listen to The Spectacle with Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay on Spotify. Watch The Spectacle with Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay on Rumble.  The post <;i>;The Spectacle<;/i>; Ep. 61: EV’s Don’t Work in the Cold appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The other day I was invited to a party at a pub with very young people. I didn’t like the place very much‚ but I accepted the invitation knowing that the host was a good friend of mine and believing that I would be surrounded by beautiful people. The place was full of guys. There were guys everywhere. The only two women were behind the bar serving drinks — probably with anti-rape spray in their back pockets. There were more guys than in the urologist’s waiting room. More guys than at the Episcopal Conference. More guys than at a Maria Sharapova tennis match. Naturally‚ I looked for a way to get out of there‚ even through the air conditioning duct in the bathroom‚ but my attempts failed because‚ in my experience‚ when everyone is drunk‚ everyone loves the idea of having a writer around. So they didn’t let me leave until well into the wee hours of the morning (warning to the younger ones: this excuse doesn’t work on Mom). Buy Itxu Díaz’s new book‚ I Will Not Eat Crickets: An Angry Satirist Declares War on the Globalist Elite‚ here today! At least they bought me drinks. Conversations were choppy and confused. Some kids were too young and went to the bathroom too much‚ and then with eyes like dart boards asked disconnected questions about my trade. I guess these are people who never had to go through the ordeal of having a junkie friend asking you for money every day. If they keep playing roulette‚ they’ll end up hitting the jackpot. The drug thing is always three generations: The first one dies‚ the second one sees it and gets scared‚ and the third one forgets about it and goes back to taking them. A painful cycle that‚ time and time again‚ doesn’t say too much about the best-informed generation in history. (READ MORE from Itxu Díaz: The Left’s Stages of Grief Over the Iowa Caucuses) And then there was a group of intellectuals. I know this because they were drinking gin and tonic out of balloon glasses and using adjectives correctly when speaking. They were discussing immigration policy‚ and I thought it was an extraordinary time to go toward the opposite end of the bar. Half of my job consists of performing postmortems on soulless politicians‚ and it’s the last thing I want to do in my spare time for free. I returned to the loudest group. Since the only way to get along with drunks is to be drunk‚ I started drinking rum at the speed of light so that in the end‚ the one who started lysergic conversations and left them halfway to nowhere was me. It wasn’t revenge‚ just a plan. I think I smoked a pack in a couple of hours. Every cigarette was a perfect excuse to get out the door of the bar and get some air‚ so I didn’t stop faking the urge to smoke all night. I was very surprised to see at the door that in the street‚ girls were passing by. Girls! Good God‚ women! For an instant‚ amid that sea of testosterone‚ I became convinced that they had become extinct like the dinosaurs. The party music sounded like dropping a bunch of thumbtacks into a chicken coop. It wasn’t bad. It was worse. It was an embarrassment to Western culture. It was‚ for sure‚ illegal. It was the kind of music that makes you believe in the death penalty once more. (READ MORE from Itxu Díaz: Two Years Without the Audacity and Laughter of P.J. O’Rourke) Times are changing. Again. I asked a very young guy why they throw parties without girls‚ and his answer left me terrified. Because they “annoy.” Everything men need‚ say relationally or sexually‚ they have at the click of a button. They talk for hours and hours with girls‚ but only on WhatsApp or similar apps. Meeting face-to-face seems too “invasive” to them. I guess we are at the end of time‚ the end of the human species. It was nice while it lasted. I talked to one of the waitresses. As drunks‚ once we grasp a topic‚ we don’t let go of it‚ so I asked her why there were no chicks. Her answer left me even more confused: “Because it’s cold.” It turns out that young girls don’t go out if it’s cold. “So what do they do?” I asked. “They watch Netflix‚” she told me. “Netflix? And they play with their cats‚ right?” I apostrophized‚ trying to be ironic. “Exactly. Netflix and cats‚” she nodded‚ sketching a serene smile‚ with the look of someone who is saying the most logical thing in the world. By the end of the party‚ I was so depressed that I had sobered up. We were going home. It wasn’t late‚ but young people now go to bed very early. I guess they go to the gym in the morning‚ or to the supermarket to buy tofu or something like that. I said goodbye to my friend and as I turned the corner‚ heading home‚ I passed by one of those discos where we were once happy‚ back in the Pleistocene. I hadn’t been there for years. I went in. Surprise! It was full of boys and girls of my generation‚ dancing and having fun. Extraordinary music was playing. I stayed until closing time. I had to get even for what I had seen earlier at the party with the kids and the zombies. I told everyone at the disco about the horrible experience‚ and they said in response‚ “That’s because you’re getting older.” A blonde‚ blue-eyed girl who was among some acquaintances said to me‚ “At least write it down!” So here I am‚ writing it down‚ but only because she was so pretty. Besides‚ writing it down is the way some of us journalists managed to change common drunkenness into something as laudable as fieldwork. Translated by Joel Dalmau. Buy Itxu Díaz’s new book‚ I Will Not Eat Crickets: An Angry Satirist Declares War on the Globalist Elite‚ here today! The post Today’s Men Can’t Throw a Party appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

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In early ‘06‚ Mötley Crüe was awarded a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. You can’t become more establishment than that. New blood was needed to carry on the wayward decadence. And that left the door ajar for Hinder. It was sex‚ drugs and Rock n’ Roll‚ not as a motto‚ but a lifestyle. Of course‚ that’s hard to pull off in dusty confines of their hometown of Oklahoma City‚ so the idea was to get out. Hinder built a strong regional following and went the indie route releasing “Far From Close.” The album sold over 5‚000 copies which led to a major label signing. They ventured north to Vancouver‚ B.C. to record their ‘06 release “Extreme Behavior‚” featuring the Rock ballad “Lips Of An Angel.” The song‚ which reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100‚ nearly wasn’t included on the album‚ much less released as a single. “Our label guy was like‚ ‘Nice song‚ it sounds like a B-side to me‚'” recalled frontman Austin Winkler. “This is not a B-side.” Things took a comic turn when Hinder tore into OK Go for their treadmill-dancing antics at the ’06 MTV Video Music Awards. “That’s not f**king Rock &; Roll‚” claimed Winkler. “They’re a bunch of fairies.”The following year‚ the video for Hinder’s take on Steppenwolf’s classic “Born To Be Wild” made its debut on NASCAR.com. The song promoted TNT’s coverage of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Hinder released their sophomore album “Take It To The Limit” on Election Day ’08 (Obama vs. McCain) so that fans could “go vote and buy the . . . record‚” said drummer Cody Hanson. “It’s such an exciting day for the rest of the country. We figured we’d give our fans something else to be excited for as well‚” added Hanson. “Use Me” was the lead single on what was the band’s second and last Top 10 album on the Billboard 200. While on tour Hinder composed tracks for their ’10 album‚ “All-American Nightmare.” “We wrote 70 or so songs‚ recorded about 50 and cut it down to 12‚” Winkler explained. “It’s something that we’ve never done before‚ so it’s like our ultimate baby.”Two years later‚ “Welcome To The Freakshow‚” containing the single “Save Me‚” arrived.On a subsequent North American run‚ Saving Abel’s Jared Weeks did a fill-in stint for Winkler who dropped out for personal reasons. “We’re going to keep the good times rolling on the road this summer‚” read a band statement. “We have some guests filling in to help us out and promise you won’t be disappointed.” Drankmore’s Marshal Dutton also handled vocals for a couple of the shows.The “Winkler” issue was resolved in ’13 when Hinder announced that the singer had officially left the band. “Although it was a difficult decision‚ it was the best thing for everyone involved and time for us to move on”‚ said Hanson“I want to thank each and every one of you all for your love and support over the years‚ and especially over the last 4 months on my road to recovery‚” wrote Winkler a short time later. “I’m happy to say I’ve been sober for 150 days.”Dutton must have done a good job filling in for Winkler because Hinder recruited him after parting ways with Nolan Neal‚ who had initially been tapped as Winkler’s replacement.“Marshal has been a part of the family since 2009 when he began co-writing/producing on the ‘All American Nightmare album’‚ said a band statement. “He has been a co-producer on every Hinder release since‚ and truly loves this band as we do.”“When The Smoke Clears‚” was Dutton’s recording debut with Hinder. On a tour supporting the ’15 release‚ Hinder’s bus was involved in a crash outside Cookeville‚ TN. Bassist Mike Rodden suffered broken ribs. But a couple of months later the group resumed the trek.With the tour completed Hinder put out “Stripped‚” an ‘unplugged’ EP. The ’16 set featured the song “Not An Addict.” “The Reign‚” the sixth studio album‚ dropped a year later.    The post Hinder appeared first on RockinTown.

Most movies are expected to take some liberties with history for dramatic effect. Nobody expects the Indiana Jones films to be realistic‚ although the hero constantly battles Nazis. It is meant as a fantastical adventure‚ with realism thrown out the window. But plot lines of Indiana Jones aren’t trying to be realistic. Recreating history is challenging – filmmakers may not have the time or budget to research every single prop in the scene. They may not know whether‚ for instance‚ a candy bar existed in 1942 vs. 1945. Such inaccuracies may not always be noticeable to general audiences‚ but to war aficionados and historians‚ these errors are like having Civil War era President Abraham Lincoln tracking troop movements by using the Internet. Take a look at some of the popular war films from the past thirty-five years which have diverged from reality. Winter conditions during the Battle of the Bulge‚ 1944. U.S. Army‚ Public domain. War Films Have Always Had Inaccuracies Historic war films have always taken liberties with battle details. The Battle of the Bulge (1965) received public criticism by General (then President) Dwight D. Eisenhower for its inaccuracies‚ such as leaving out the British contributions and the impact of the air forces in helping the Allies repel German forces. The Green Berets (1968) has been criticized for details like showing a Private First Class (E-3) wearing a green beret despite being too low of a rank. Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) shows Japanese forces attacking the fleet in Pearl Harbor before hitting Wheeler Field. In reality‚ Japanese forces hit the airfield while attacking the harbor‚ to ensure the Americans wouldn’t be able to get planes in the air while they conducted the harbor mission. Factual errors about historic battles continue to emerge in the war films produced in the last thirty-five years‚ despite the expanded availability of research resources. Source