All posts tagged: Western

Will We See Western Capitals Fall?

Will We See Western Capitals Fall?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by J.B. Shurk via American Thinker, Consider these recent news headlines: (1) “NYC Turns Back to Gas Buses After Finding Out the Hard Way That the Electric Versions Have Big Problems,” (2) “As a Former Head of MI6 it’s Clear That Britain’s Climate Policy is Leaving Us Dangerously Exposed to Our Enemies,” and (3) “Spain: 74% of sex-crime suspects are foreigners in Basque Country.” They come from three different Western nations and involve three dissimilar subjects – public transportation, national security, and violent crime – yet each news story exposes the real-world consequences of government failure: (1) In order to pursue “Net Zero” carbon goals, New York dumped a ton of money into electric buses that are too expensive and entirely unreliable for the city’s needs. (2) Britain’s former top spy is finally ready to admit publicly that his country’s delusional obsession with “climate change” has devastated the United Kingdom’s capacity for industrial and energy self-sufficiency, rendering the former superpower dependent on foreign adversaries for future survival. (3) Even though foreigners make up only …

Hurricane Lowell brings 30-foot surf as it nears western Hawaiian islands

Hurricane Lowell brings 30-foot surf as it nears western Hawaiian islands

Published by Sam Flores

One of Hawaii’s westernmost main islands was hit with damaging surf of 30 feet and offshore winds of over 100 mph as Category 2 Hurricane Lowell approached Monday, officials said. The hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, posed a risk to all the major islands due to the possibility of heavy rains and landslides, forecasters warned. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a 5 p.m. local time update that there have been winds of around 100 mph and greater offshore of Kauai. “They’re having a huge impact, 20- to 30-foot surf, damaging a lot of the area right around the shoreline,” he said in a video posted to social media. Kauai County, which includes the islands of Kauai, Niʻihau, Lehua, and Kaʻula, was under a hurricane warning, the National Hurricane Center said. Lowell is expected to pass to the west of Kauai and Niʻihau late Monday and early Tuesday morning, the agency said. Oahu was under a tropical storm warning. Kauai County Mayor Derek Kawakami urged residents to be off the roads by …

Johnny Flynn & John C. Reilly Western

Johnny Flynn & John C. Reilly Western

Published by Daniella Wilson

You wait eons for a great tragic film set on the American frontier in the 19th century from a little-known director that features an outstanding male lead performance, a scene-stealing turn from a veteran character actor, and a forest fire — and wouldn’t you know it, two come along at once. Well, not quite at once, but just a little over a year apart. Close enough to make you wonder if there’s something in the air, a conspiracy afoot, or just great minds thinking alike and taking inspiration from fine literary works. Director Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams, adapted from Denis Johnson’s novel of the same name, premiered at Sundance in 2025, but didn’t really build up a critical wind behind it until last fall, as awards season heated up, which is why it feels so recent. This year, A Prayer for the Dying, similar to Train Dreams in all the ways listed above and just as good a film, debuts at Berlin in the newish Perspectives showcase, where it’s created a substantial buzz. A Prayer …

‘Fallout’ Gives the Western a Much-Needed Reinvention

‘Fallout’ Gives the Western a Much-Needed Reinvention

Published by Sam Flores

For more than seven months, Walton Goggins watched a Western every day. John Ford’s films, Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy, episodes of Gunsmoke—the actor saw them all as he shot Fallout, the postapocalyptic TV series in which he stars. Half the time, he binged for research; Goggins thought of his character, the fictional 1950s-style movie star Cooper Howard, as a peer of cowboy-playing performers such as Alan Ladd. “I didn’t look at them as Walton. I really looked at them as Cooper Howard,” he told me last spring on the set of Fallout’s second season. “It was like …” He slipped into character, making a dejected expression as if envious of Ladd’s career. “Okay, yeah, Alan got that role, and he was great in Shane,” Goggins, as Cooper, drawled. “I should have taken that, and I should have taken that television pilot.” He laughed. “I should have done Gunsmoke. Why didn’t I do that?!” But the other half of the time, Goggins explained, he just needed something to stay sane. He also plays “the Ghoul,” a …

This 5-hour real-life Western on Netflix is better than Yellowstone

This 5-hour real-life Western on Netflix is better than Yellowstone

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Some of the first films ever made were Westerns, going all the way back to when the medium was being invented and pioneered in the 1890s and 1900s. The exploration and conquest of the American frontier has had a death grip on the imagination for well over a hundred years, and there are plenty of modern Westerns that are just as good or better than the classics. For a while, Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone — a modern Western about the powerful Dutton ranching family — was the most popular show on TV. The death grip continues. But Yellowstone has a point of view on the American frontier that may not agree with everyone, and the sheer size of it could deter people. If that’s you, there’s another Western drama you should check out. American Primeval chases the truth, Yellowstone embraces the myth Which do you want more? American Primeval is about a woman named Sara (Betty Gilpin) making her way westward along with her son Devin (Preston Mota). Along the way, they meet up with a …

Best things to do in Carmel Valley: Western vibes and gorgeous scenery

Best things to do in Carmel Valley: Western vibes and gorgeous scenery

Published by Sam Flores

You may be familiar with Carmel-by-the-Sea, a tiny, old world village near the Pacific Ocean where you can sample chocolates or hunt for Jane Austen novels in cottages plucked straight from a fairy tale. But understated Carmel Valley, which stretches inland to the east where it’s substantially warmer, deserves its own visit. Fair warning: You may find yourself staying a while. Carmel Valley isn’t “wine country,” as many believe — it’s much more low-key than that. It’s an expanse of farmland influenced by the cold ocean coming off the Monterey Bay and warm winds from the surrounding Santa Lucia Mountains, giving way for beautiful scenery dotted with indie businesses. Once a place where cowboys and ranchers would venture to refill their provisions, the valley retains a distinct cowboy culture, especially in the charming downtown known as Carmel Valley Village. Not overly developed, and definitely not over-hipsterfied, the area has become a hideaway for solace-seeking Angelenos. You never know if recently-made-local Brad Pitt will be popping into dive bar Running Iron, a Carmel Valley staple. About …

The infantilization of Western culture

The infantilization of Western culture

Published by Sam Flores

If you regularly watch TV, you’ve probably seen a cartoon bear pitching you toilet paper, a gecko with a British accent selling you auto insurance and a bunny in sunglasses promoting batteries. This has always struck me as a bit odd. Sure, it makes sense to use cartoon characters to sell products to kids — a phenomenon that’s been well-documented. But why are advertisers using the same techniques on adults? To me, it’s just one symptom of a broader trend of infantilization in Western culture. It began before the advent of smartphones and social media. But, as I argue in my book “The Terminal Self,” our everyday interactions with these computer technologies have accelerated and normalized our culture’s infantile tendencies. Society-wide arrested development The dictionary defines infantilizing as treating someone “as a child or in a way that denies their maturity in age or experience.” What’s considered age-appropriate or mature is obviously quite relative. But most societies and cultures will deem behaviors appropriate for some stages of life, but not others. As the Bible puts it …