You’ve been hearing a lot about Mark Meadows lately. Perhaps too much. The former White House chief of staff under Donald Trump has a new book out, which has enraged his former boss. Among his damning revelations is that the former president tested positive for COVID earlier than claimed. He also almost turned on now-Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh because he sang the praises of beer.
Meadows has something else going on these days, though: He’s wanted by the Jan. 6 committee. Last week, he’d agreed to sit down for a deposition with the bipartisan group, which is investigating the lead-up to the Capitol siege that ended Trump’s presidency in disgrace. Then he flip-flopped. Now he’s suing them.
As per The Daily Beast, Meadows’ lawyer, in a suit fled Wednesday, claimed his client has been “illegally coerced into violating the Constitution” by being asked to provide documents and information, via a sit-down, to the group. How is that illegal? Because the Jan. 6 committee, as per the filing, is seeking to “violate longstanding principles of executive privilege and immunity.”
If that excuse sounds familiar, it should. “Executive privilege” is the same one used by Trump himself. Only problem? That line should only apply to sitting commanders-in-chief. Trump hasn’t been president in just over a year. And yet it’s the same excuse he’s been telling all his close allies to employ.
Thing is, Meadows has already supplied some information to the committee, handing over thousands of documents, including some unflattering texts. He put the kibosh on cooperating further because, his lawyer claimed, the panel wanted intel on some privileged matters. Meadows would have been one of over 300 witnesses the committee has already interviewed, many of them who did so willingly.
Among the information the committee seeks from Meadows is what he knows about, as per the Beast, the “previous administration’s conspiracy-drenched “Stop the Steal” campaign, the scheme to use the Justice Department to perpetuate fake election fraud claims, and “efforts to pressure state and local officials and entities… to challenge the results of the presidential election.”
They also want to know if Meadows indeed used an encrypted apps on his phone and computer to communicate about government issues during his final stretch in the White House.
“It’s not their fault masculinity makes intimacy so hard.”
This was a line from a recent “Saturday Night Live” sketch, aptly titled “Man Park.” The premise: A girlfriend is so concerned that her male partner has no friends, that she takes him to the “Man Park” to socialize. ”It’s like a dog park, but for guys in relationships.” Like a cute clumsy puppy, the boyfriend (Pete Davidson) plays with other “breeds” as the women cheer from the sidelines. Finally, the boyfriend gets to bond with his fellow males over Dave Matthews, Marvel, and Rick and Morty. You know … guy stuff.
That sketch might be hilarious, but it is touching on the very real loneliness that men experience. If you have any doubts, just take a look at some of the comments to the video:
“I feel personally attacked but also kind of disappointed this isn’t a thing. How do you make new friends as an adult? … my girlfriend is also my only friend lmao.”
“This really hits home. It’s incredible how men fall into this state of loneliness of friendships apart from their partners. I had lots of friends when I was young and have a lot of old time friends, but as an adult it’s been pretty hard forming these new bonds. It’s a mix of a lack of time, social events and COVID has kept us isolated and at home.”
“Jesus’s biggest miracle was he had 12 close male friends at age 30.”
Loneliness. A problem…
Avrum Weiss, Ph.D., wrote a brilliant article on the subject in Psychology Today (it even references the SNL sketch). In it, he pointed out how in heterosexual relationships, men often rely on their female partners to maintain friendships. And that boys start out with as many close relationships as girls do, but often start to neglect their personal relationships to “pursue external success.” Basically, the skill of making friends is not like a bicycle. You do forget if you don’t keep at it.
Add to that a culturally taught association between vulnerability and weakness, and it’s no wonder that so many men find themselves lost.
Though SNL makes light of it, Weiss notes the serious toll isolation takes, stating that “loneliness is not only an unpleasant feeling; it is an interpersonal impairment that causes significant harm.” This includes less satisfaction in their intimate relationships, and even extends to a steep decline in physical health.
…and a solution
Billy Baker, author of We Need to Hang Out, has become a bit of an expert in overcoming loneliness. His now famous article for The Boston Globe retells him getting asked to write a piece about being middle aged and having no friends. Which is, as Baker shares, quite typical.
Baker eventually solved the puzzle of the elusive male companionship with a simple, yet radically effective strategy: He made engagement a regular activity. Wednesday nights were, and still are, planned friend nights.
Meeting new people could be as simple as taking a class or even volunteering (doesn’t hurt that the last one also appeals to a masculine drive for service and purpose). The real challenge, however, is maintaining those connections once they’re established.
Though regular social interaction is important for anyone, sociologist Rebecca G. Adams notes that regular activities might be particularly important to men, who tend to use friendship to escape reality, while women tend to use friends to face reality.
…and an invitation
Perhaps the biggest takeaway though, was that Baker reframed his outlook on masculinity. As his article expresses, he learned that admitting loneliness does not make you a loser. Nor does showing affection—even to another man—imply a lack of strength. Circling back to the SNL sketch, it’s not men’s fault that many of them have been taught to think that emotion = burden. The only way to change this belief, however, is to put themselves out there and move through the discomfort of potential awkwardness or rejection.
Sounds like a pretty classically labeled male trait when you think about it: a willingness to persevere through a difficult circumstance, in order for something better. That inherent determination serves to create emotional well-being, too.
Though finding friends might not be as easy as a walk through the “Man Park,” the results are well worth the effort. And men deserve to experience the type of emotional fortitude that comes from knowing people are out there when times are hard.
Everyone seems to love bourbon these days. The old Kentucky spirit, famously refined by a preacher named Elijah Craig over 200 years ago, has taken the drinking world by storm, yet again. With this new boom comes even more options when actually choosing which bourbons to drink. It also brings with it the need for equipment — glasses, cocktail kits, bitters, a bar spoon, ice trays, etc. — to ensure you can enjoy your whiskey the way you like it (and to geek out a little, which is half the fun).
With so many people diving deep into this new passion, it’s very likely that someone you care about wants to get into bourbon, too. But maybe they don’t know where to start and need a few key gifts to get the ball rolling. That’s why we teamed up with Elijah Craig (the premium spirits brand, not the 18th-century preacher) to help you figure out which bottles and accessories make great holiday gifts.
Scroll down to explore.
Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey
Elijah Craig
Why This Is Perfect For A Bourbon Beginner:
As an entry point into the category, you can’t go wrong with the gift of Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon. It’s traditional, it’s consistent, and it’s accessible at 94 proof. New drinkers will learn to appreciate bourbon’s classic flavors, while also training their palates to pick up some of Elijah Craig’s more nuanced notes.
Tasting Notes To Look For:
Hints of apples, dark winter spices, caramel, and lush vanilla mingle throughout the sip. There are signature warm spice and subtle smoke notes deep in this bourbon that are enticing and familiar.
Bottom Line:
This classic bourbon is rich and versatile. It works as a sipper, in a highball, or as the base for any whiskey cocktail. The bottle itself is sturdy and iconic in its own right, making a great bar cart centerpiece. It’s a perfect gift for Bourbon connoisseurs and casual whiskey fans alike.
A stainless shaker gets the job done when someone is learning the cocktail game. It’s classic and sturdy (which is crucial for a tool that takes a beating from the ice shaking around inside of it).
The use of stainless steel also provides a non-reactive surface that’ll last a very long time. Trust us, those tin shakers you find for five bucks at the register at a liquor store will break sooner than anyone would expect. So make sure to get a proper, stainless steel shaker that will actually last. It’ll also look good on their bar and show that they’re serious about making real cocktails.
A great mixing glass is essential to learning how to stir up cocktails like the Sazerac, Manhattan, or Old Fashioned. This comes down to quality. You want to look for a crystal mixing glass since crystal is non-reactive. This will allow the gift recipient to mix, dilute, and chill their cocktails without imparting unwanted flavors from inferior glass. Plus, a crystal mixing glass always looks great as the centerpiece of any home bar.
Ice is used for diluting and cooling bourbon pours and cocktails. If someone is pouring some Elijah Craig or an Elijah Craig cocktail into a rocks glass, they’ll want the ice to cool the drink without over-diluting it. For that, a lot less surface area is needed.
This is where large cubes come in (and why you see them at great whiskey bars these days). To make these large cubes at home, a silicone ice cube tray is necessary. Silicone will allow you to actually pop the ice from the tray without breaking it, making the whole process much easier.
Tovolo makes great silicone trays that are readily available.
Bar Tools
Unsplash
Why This Is Perfect For A Bourbon Beginner:
Bar spoons, strainers, jiggers, juicers, muddlers, and bar knives are all tools someone will need to elevate their mixing game. The right tools help make cocktails look and taste better.
An actual bar spoon helps with both measuring smaller amounts (it’s a real measurement for cocktails) and stirring (obviously). A bar knife is a paring knife with two little prongs at the end of the blade which allows the mixer to spear pieces of fruit and place them in a glass without touching them. A hand juicer is clutch when you want to juice a lemon right into a bourbon sour. You see where we’re going here.
OXO makes a great line of stainless steel bar tools that’ll help any budding mixologist up their game.
Glasses
Unsplash
Why This Is Perfect For A Bourbon Beginner:
The beauty of a good rocks glass is that it works for pretty much anything. You can chill it and pour a Manhattan into it if you don’t have cocktail glasses. You can load it with one of those big ice cubes and pour some bourbon right over it. You can top that up with a little fizzy water to make a bourbon highball (in a lowball glass). You can pour a small measure and nose it and taste it like a pro. It’s a universal glass and a welcome addition to any home bar.
Still, you don’t want anything too ostentatious. About ten to eleven ounces is ideal with a sturdy base and a thin bowl. Consider gifting a set of four glasses (or more if you think they’ll need them).
There are a lot of options out there but Reidel and Waterford are the top of the line.
Cocktail Mixers
Elijah Craig
Why This Is Perfect For A Bourbon Beginner:
It takes time and repetition to master the art of crafting cocktails at home. It’s a truly enriching and valuable journey of discovery, and one of the best ways to start is with a cocktail kit or mix.
Mixes generally come with the bitters and sweeteners pre-measured so that all anyone has to do is follow some easy instructions to enjoy a delicious cocktail. A classic Old Fashioned mix or a Manhattan mix is a great gift for someone who wants to serve up a tasty cocktail but is only just starting.
This is the perfect gateway rye for the bourbon drinker who’s looking for what’s next. The mash bill (recipe) has a very low rye grain component with plenty of corn. That means it will expand the bourbon drinker’s palate without feeling completely foreign. Rye, like bourbon, is pretty strict on its rules. The main difference is that rye has to be made with at least 51 percent rye grains in the mash bill, whereas bourbon needs at least 51 percent corn. With lots of corn in this rye’s mash, Elijah Craig Straight Rye feels like a real stepping stone between the two styles.
Tasting Notes To Look For:
There’s a clear spice that leans into dried chilis and hot cinnamon, which is tempered by the smoother and sweeter notes from the corn and wood. You’ll find vanilla and sweet honey mellowing all that spice pretty quickly.
Bottom Line:
While this whiskey has slightly limited availability, it’s still widely available and very well priced. It’s a great “next-step” whiskey for anyone really getting into mixing their own cocktails at home. Urge them to try it in a Manhattan! Just make sure that they make you one too. After all, a well-selected gift deserves to be shared this season.
The game, simply titled Chris Pratt is Super Mario, is a direct remake of Super Mario‘s first level, and plays identically to the Nintendo game with the added bonus of some fun dialogue pulled from some of Pratt’s previous performances interjected into it. Each command you insert while playing the game comes with a unique line of dialogue, with jumping causing the Pratt-voiced Mario to exclaim “jumping jacks!” and every death leading to a defeated sounding, “that’s super disappointing.”
For those interested in experiencing the game for yourself, you better move as quick as the little red man himself — Nintendo has a long history of removing any games using their assets or name regardless of it is is a fun, little parody. While it might not be an accurate depiction of what Pratt’s take on Mario will look and sound like, it sure is a fun one, and definitely has us even more curious how things will play out when the Super Mario Bros. movie hits theaters.
On Wednesday, the alleged “War on Christmas” took an unexpected turn. Fox News viewers woke up that morning to grim news: the massive Christmas tree outside the network’s headquarters in Midtown Manhattan had been set ablaze. It happened in the early hours of Wednesday, starting around 12:15am. NYPD soon had a suspect: Craig Tamanaha, a man without housing, who had been seen climbing the structure before it was engulfed in flames and who was arrested shortly thereafter. No one was injured, but the station’s honor was, as witnessed by how its hosts and guests spent the whole day lamenting the freak occurrence.
It started with Fox & Friends, the morning show that sometimes peddles surreally reckless misinformation about COVID. They blamed it on the “crime surge” the network has been arguably exaggerating; a report on the city’s violent crime shows it’s been on the decline, despite their attempts to paint a portrait of cities — including the ones a large number of its staff live in — as “out of control.”
That line was picked up elsewhere throughout the day. As per Mediaite, Outnumbered co-host Emily Compagno blamed it on cities run by evil Democrats.
“America’s crime crisis hits close to home for us here at Fox after a brazen arson attack happened right outside our New York City headquarters,” she said. “Where a suspect set fire to the Fox All-American Christmas tree, defacing the symbol of peace and joy, and giving us a front-row seat to the rampant crime ravaging Democrat-run cities.”
Others took another tack, delivering odes to the incinerated tree as a symbol of strength in the face of adversity, and not simply a fake plant that burnt more easily because it wasn’t real.
Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner on the Fox Xmas tree fire: “But no one can burn down the spirit of Christmas, or destroy our resilience… we share with you every part of our journey. The part where sometimes we get hit, and a part where we get up together.” pic.twitter.com/aE6P9qD4be
“No one can burn down the spirit of Christmas, or destroy our resilience,” said Harris Faulkner. “A new tree is on the way. It will be brighter and more beautiful than ever. And as we do here on The Faulkner Focus, we share with you every part of our journey. The part where sometimes we get hit, and the part where we get up together.”
The same went for Kennedy, the MTV VJ-turned-Fox Business host. “Here at Fox, the tree means so much to people because we have these incredible red, white, and blue decorations, which is a nod to not only the season, but also this incredible country that we live in,” said the former host of the Game Show Network’s WinTuition. “And I will tell you this: We’re gonna build the tree. The tree will be back in no time. It is going to be beautiful and massive and it is going to mean even more than it did before.”
In the meantime, law enforcement was not jumping to conclusions as readily as Fox News staffers. “The motive I don’t think is clear at this point,” said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. “It’s an individual that is known to us. He has a series of low-level arrests and drug arrests. He was issued earlier this year some appearance tickets and didn’t come back to court, which unfortunately is something we see all too often. Also has some low-level arrests out of state.”
But to Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott, it wasn’t a random incident. It was a “deliberate and brazen act of cowardice,” which they milked all day.
While just about everyone on the planet seemed to love HBO Max’s Friends reunion special that hit the streaming service this past May (well, except Paul Rudd fans), for some the stroll down memory lane was a bit more emotional than they were anticipating. However, perhaps no one was quite as emotionally sapped by the experience as the woman behind fashion icon Rachel Green herself, Jennifer Aniston.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Aniston told the outlet the reunion special was much harder than she anticipated, going so far as to call it emotionally “jarring.” According to Aniston, while her and the rest of her Friends’ co-stars went in to the experience thinking it would be fun, it didn’t take long for her to be brutally reminded of how much leaving the show — and the uncertainty that awaited her — “sucked.” The Emmy-winning actress went on to admit that the experience was so emotional, she even had to walk off the set at certain points.
“I think we were just so naive walking into it, thinking, ‘How fun is this going to be? They’re putting the sets back together, exactly as they were,’” Aniston started. “Then you get there and it’s like, ‘Oh right, I hadn’t thought about what was going on the last time I was actually here.’ And it just took me by surprise because it was like, ‘Hi, past, remember me? Remember how that sucked? You thought everything was in front of you and life was going to be just gorgeous and then you went through maybe the hardest time in your life?’ It was all very jarring and, of course, you’ve got cameras everywhere and I’m already a little emotionally accessible, I guess you could say, so I had to walk out at certain points. I don’t know how they cut around it.”
However — and despite of all the emotional baggage being on set came with — Aniston said being reunited with her former found family was “so much fun,” and brought back the same sense of unity the cast felt back when they were standing side-by-side with one another while famously renegotiating their contracts. She also addressed how she felt about her career post-Friends, as well as the big question of if she’ll ever write a memoir about the experience, to which she responded it “doesn’t appeal to me, really.” You can read the full interview at The Hollywood Reporter, and catch the actress on the Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes special that hit Hulu earlier today.
Today is Nicki Minaj’s birthday, but she’s the one giving the gift to her followers on Instagram, posting photos from a celebratory birthday shoot showing off her NSFW birthday suit. Cheekily captioning her post “Say happy birthday to da bad guy” — a reference to her 2018 hit “Chun-Li” — Nicki shared three photos in which she bares all while holding a prop cake and straddles a massive teddy bear all with her signature cotton candy pink wig immaculately styled like an old-Hollywood glamor model.
Nicki’s 38th year on Earth has certainly been an eventual one. Although she hasn’t released much music, she did drop a few new tunes for her fans, who are always eager to support her. In May, she re-released her breakthrough mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, with a brand-new track, “Seeing Green,” that reunited her with her Young Money cohorts Drake and Lil Wayne. She also joined Polo G on his Hall Of Fame track, “For The Love Of New York,” as well as guesting on Little Mix member Jesy Nelson’s solo single “Boyz” and the Elton John collaboration “Always Love You” with Young Thug.
Unfortunately, she got just as much attention for her missteps, sparking a widespread backlash when she shared a vaccine conspiracy theory that got her roasted by seemingly everyone who wasn’t Fox News, where suddenly, she was the best rapper around after years of them criticizing her for her music and image. She and her husband Kenneth also came under fire for harassing a woman who said he raped her over 20 years ago.
It wasn’t all bad news, though; in November, Nicki joined erstwhile rival Cardi B as the only two female rappers to receive a diamond certification from the RIAA. Here’s hoping the last year of her 30s goes a lot better and she finds some time to drop new music, so she has something else to tweet about.
Damian Lillard’s future with the Portland Trail Blazers has been a hot topic for months. Lillard has not been shy about his desire to compete for a championship, and while he has made clear he wants to do that in Portland, the team’s on-court struggles and off-court turmoil have led to questions being asked about whether those two things are compatible.
As such, Lillard’s future in Rip City has been called into question, despite his repeated proclamations that he is not going to ask for a trade. The latest example of this came on Wednesday when Lillard was asked about potentially wanting a trade, and while he said that “any time that you’re desired is a compliment,” he once again expressed his desire to stick around.
Asked Dame Lillard this morning at Blazers shootaround how he felt about people rooting for organizational chaos within the Blazers organization in hopes that he will request a trade.
Dame remains adamant that he doesn’t want to be traded from Portland and wants to be the part of the solution and winning. (2/2) pic.twitter.com/jtzFQoREAA
“I’ve been here for 10 years, and I’m trying to be a part of the solution,” Lillard told reporters. “We all here to do a job, we all here to try to win, and try to win big. I feel like that’s something that I’m here to do, and I’m just trying to be a part of the solution, I’m not trying to be a part of the gossip and part of the story, I just wanna be at peace and try to do my job to the best of my ability, and do the things that I care about, and that I’m passionate about, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Lillard said that he’s “at peace” about seeing his name pop up in trade rumors because he knows “the truth” about how things are going in Portland, and expressed his belief that his statements over the summer and the team’s tumultuous start of the campaign have led to the latest round of speculation.
“I’m not asking for a trade,” Lillard said. “I don’t know how many times I’ve gotta say it. It’s gotten to the point in this era that people can write stories and say things, and I heard this, and I heard that, and because of who they are, people take it as, like, this is credible, this is probably true. Me, on the other hand, I don’t feel like I have to defend myself against that and come out and challenge everything that people say until I’m asked about it, because I know the truth.”
The latest round of questions comes following a report that Lillard wants a $107 million extension from the Blazers this summer, which is apparently scaring away prospective general managers who would prefer to trade him, instead. In response to that, Lillard shared a tweet alleging the piece’s author, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and former Blazers executive Neil Olshey of working together to slander him.
As if Democrats didn’t have enough problems on their hands, now they’ve got to add the burning of the Fox News Christmas tree to their list of screw-ups.
That’s right — along with new COVID variants and the possible reversal of Roe v. Wade and the absolute gutting of voting rights by Republicans — the burnt remains of Fox News’ holiday decorations also rest solely on President Joe Biden’s shoulders. At least, that’s what RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel thinks.
In the early morning hours on Wednesday, a homeless man climbed the Christmas tree sitting outside Fox News headquarters and set it on fire. He was arrested and charged with arson, and the whole debacle gave Fox News personalities like Brian Kilmeade and Ainsley Earhardt the opportunity to do what they love to do best: be outraged on national television. But, despite this being a victimless incident swiftly handled by the NYPD, McDaniel and other Republicans are using it as an example of how, under Biden’s leadership, the streets are running rampant with Christmas-hating criminals.
“Republicans are more trusted on three key issues: the economy, inflation, and crime,” McDaniel told Fox News while predicting 2022 election results. “These are issues we’re seeing every day on our streets, around our homes, in our communities, on the news. Look at your Christmas tree that was just burned down. This is a huge problem for Democrats.”
Umm … yeah, we’re pretty sure Biden has bigger problems than the crispy remains of a mainstream media company’s Christmas tree, but go off we guess? McDaniel continued to sound the alarm about the Great Christmas Tree Assault on Twitter, calling the fire evidence of “chaos in our streets.”
Seriously?! Burning Christmas trees?! How long will Democrats allow this chaos to keep happening in our nation’s cities?
Still, this hysteria over what was once a staple of pagan winter solstice celebrations isn’t as weird as Earhardt claiming the tree stood for “the holiday season, Jesus, and Hanukkah.” We’re still trying to work that one out.
Ainsley Earhardt on the Fox Christmas tree: “It’s a tree that unites us. It brings us together. It’s about the Christmas spirit. It is about the holiday season. It’s about Jesus. It’s about Hanukkah. It is about everything that we stand for as a country.” pic.twitter.com/fV8Hg2juHI
Girlpool has been taking some time to themselves. Until today, they hadn’t released any new music in 2021 and in fact, the last track that the Los Angeles-based duo released was the synth-y darkness of “Like I’m Winning It,” in March of 2020. Uproxx spoke to Harmony Tividad and Avery Tucker shortly after the release of 2019’s What Chaos Is Imaginary, which Tividad described as “…the summary of so many experiences we shared. Weird nuances in our life together are kind of the string, but it’s not really a public string, it’s like a private string. Our inner string is all these different feelings and moments and things in our lives that happened.”
With that, the duo has been hunkering down, letting their new music take shape, making sense of their lives again as they grow and it’s on full display in the new video for “Faultline.” “Every day it’s Friday night, I hold my body like a butcher knife,” Tividad begins as the pair try to grasp a sense of reality amid desire, death as a metaphor, and spirituality. “The Faultline represents everything you do as a means of escape that pushes you further into the very thing you’re escaping,” Tividad says in a statement. Produced by Overcoats and Yves Tumor producer Yves Rothman, the gentle harmony and the song’s melody soars, just as Tividad does with angel wings spread over LA in the Julian Klincewicz-directed video.
Watch the video for “Faultline” above.
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