By Greg Prato On October 16, 2025, the rock world lost one of its true icons – when Ace Frehley passed away at the age of 74. As the original “Spaceman” and lead guitarist in Kiss, Frehley inspired and influenced countless other guitar players in his wake. My 50th book overall, Talk To Me: Conversations With Ace Frehley, serves as a tribute to the legendary Frehley, compiling all the times I interviewed him over the years into a single book. And as a result, covers a wide variety of topics (from his Kiss years through his solo career, his personal life, songwriting, his guitar playing and gear, etc.). Also included are all-new and previously unpublished “tribute interviews” with renowned names from the rock world. Featuring Eddie Trunk, Joe Bonamassa, and Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil (as well as a short but colorful chat with Rush’s Alex Lifeson), among others, who share their memories and thoughts about the guitarist, and discuss how they would like him to be remembered. Plus, a foreword provided by Matt Pinfield, and many vintage photos of Ace from throughout the years. Below are several excerpts from the book, in which several renowned rock names discuss why Ace was considered by many to be coolest Kiss member of the bunch. Do you agree that Ace’s persona and makeup design was the coolest of the bunch? Ty Tabor (King’s X): Oh yeah, absolutely. His whole demeanor on stage was godlike, for a kid. I always — even as a youngster — thought Paul and Gene came off like, really wide open exuberance, grabbing the audience’s attention and everything. And Ace on the other hand, was more a little bit laid back until it came time for him to rip, and then he’d lean into it and lean back, and throw his guitar around. And just did it with all this feel and style. And like I said, that would be the “gem moment” in the song for me, is when Ace stepped up and shined. And so to me, he had by far the coolest stage presence, the coolest look, and he just was the coolest — period — of all of them. He was by far my favorite. Do you agree that Ace was the heart and soul of Kiss? Jesse Hughes (Eagles of Death Metal): I do. Well, that’s an interesting question, isn’t it? Yeah, I do agree with that, and my main reason is because I wanted to be him. The very first time I saw him – at my very first concert at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium, when my father took me to see Kiss in 1976 — I immediately wanted to be him. So, starting off as a child, I would say yes, in that respect. I would also say yes in the respect that once he left the band, nobody gave a shit about it anymore. I’m not trying to insult the other members, because I’m a Paul Stanley fanatic. But once Ace left the band, it changed it. And eventually, they had to come out of the make-up. And all the other guitarists that followed after him, the ones they even have now, they’re all great guitarists in their own right, but the one thing you can’t deny is that they’ll never be Ace, and I feel like that’s what you’re saying. Although Gene and Paul seem to usually get the lion’s share of credit for Kiss, do you agree that Ace and Peter were the heart and soul of the original line-up? And that without Ace and Peter, they wouldn’t have been what they became in the ’70s?  Don Jamieson (That Metal Show co-host, comedian): They have acknowledged — rightly — that chemistry is undeniable. I end up going down these crazy rabbit holes on YouTube, looking at old shows from the ’75/’76 period. And I mean, that’s a band that’s as young and hungry and on fire as you’ll ever see. Some of those shows back then…it’s a juggernaut. I mean, they are going for it every night, and everybody is on top of their game. And for as much crap as Paul and Gene have given Ace about his drinking and his drug use and that he couldn’t play, let me tell you something — I defy anybody to go online in those early days of Kiss and find any shows where Ace was not playing absolutely precisely and perfectly every night. When, some of the other people in the band were not. How would you like Ace to be remembered? David Ellefson (Kings of Thrash, ex-Megadeth): Ace was the quintessential cool cat. And as we’ve read the history, that’s how he got the name – he was the cool guy with the ladies. He was “The Ace.” He had a cool factor, a swagger – in how he looked, how he acted on stage. Especially when he had the make-up on. And in how he played up ’til the very end. You could tell it was Ace as soon as you heard him. And  that is a quality of an artist that is so difficult to accomplish. And Ace had that. As soon as you heard him play guitar, you knew it was Ace. So I think Ace’s workmanship and his quality of what he did it’s just forever immortalized in the minds of the public. As is his image. And regardless of how it all ended with Kiss – of ownership of trademark make-up and all the rest of that stuff, that Spaceman character will forever and always be Ace Frehley. Period. Really, those four faces belong to Gene Paul, Peter, and Ace — regardless of who may have had a trademark ownership on it at the very end — that belongs to the four of them, period. And that’s how they will always be remembered by us.

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We're partnering with moderate Al Qaeda against extremist Al Qaeda so that Al Qaeda doesn't win. The post Al Qaeda Finally Makes It To the White House appeared first on Frontpage Mag.

'it gives so much to everybody'

A storm system will be moving through Northeast California

Nostalgia for the 1980s has been widespread in recent years. Perhaps those who grew up during that decade are looking back fondly on their childhood, or maybe there really was something magical about that time. Regardless, it’s hard not to think of things like big hair, neon leg warmers, and shoulder pads when the 1980s are brought up. But for New York City, and especially its most populous borough, those things didn’t paint the full picture. While Wall Street boomed and a new wave of artists colonized downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn was being pulled in two vastly different directions: prospering creativity and urban decay. To put it simply, 1980s Brooklyn was a place in transition. Though the borough struggled with crime and economic issues, it was also a time of cultural booms and vibrant celebrations. And as the pictures below show, it was one of the most dynamic, challenging, and energetic places to be. Click here to view slideshow Urban Decay, The Crack Epidemic, And The Fallout From The 1970s The dawn of a new decade doesn't erase the years that came before it, and although we might now think of the 1980s as louder, brighter, and more glamorous than the 1970s, the scars of those previous years were still visible. New York was in crisis in the 1970s. Economic and political troubles caused unprecedented levels of stress. The city nearly went bankrupt, industries were declining, middle-class families fled to the suburbs, social services were cut, and waves of arson and an increase in other crimes left a terrible mark on Brooklyn neighborhoods like Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant. By the early 1980s, parts of Bushwick almost looked like a war zone. The 1977 blackout riots had accelerated the ongoing decline, leaving behind rubble-strewn lots and hollowed-out buildings in some communities. As writer Denis Chavez pointed out in a blog post for the NYC Department of Records: "By 1975, Bushwick already had suffered 4,000 fires; 900 most likely from arson by landlords trying to make a fast dollar. The blackout [happened] on July 13, 1977, but the scene for looting and arson had long ago been established. The damage done during the 24 hours of the blackout in Bushwick alone accounted for 88 stores looted and 48 set on fire." NYC Municipal Archives1 Bushwick Place in the 1980s, a former brewery that was temporarily abandoned. In the 1980s, Mayor Ed Koch invested $58 million into new public housing in the Bushwick area, which led to a small amount of recovery, but it wasn't enough to restore it to how it had been in decades prior. At the same time, all of New York City was dealing with the widespread crack epidemic. Crack cocaine tore through vulnerable communities with especially terrifying speed, turning some street corners into open-air drug markets. For many people, their daily routines became a lesson in survival, and ordinary citizens were forced to step up to address crime when authorities wouldn't, leading to organizations like the Guardian Angels. Oliver Morris/Getty ImagesA Guardian Angel talks to founder Curtis Sliwa's then-wife Lisa on the subway. Brooklyn effectively teetered on the edge of becoming an East Coast Detroit. Additionally, the racial tensions that simmered throughout the decade sometimes exploded into horrific violence. In 1989, for example, a Black teenager named Yusuf Hawkins was shot to death in the then-predominately Italian neighborhood of Bensonhurst, sparking demonstrations led by Hawkins' parents and activists like the Rev. Al Sharpton. The protesters were often harassed with jeers and racial slurs, and Sharpton was even stabbed in the chest with a steak knife at one point as he prepared to protest. Brooklyn's Cultural Richness Amidst The Chaos Even as Brooklyn struggled with crime and economic problems, the borough's immigrant communities maintained strong cultural traditions. The early 1980s was an especially fruitful time to witness these celebrations. The Brooklyn Rediscovery Folklife Study Project, conducted from 1980 to 1983, documented this cultural boom. The project focused on neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Bay Ridge, and documented various traditions from different communities, including celebrations like the Italian American Giglio Feast, the Caribbean American West Indian Day Parade, and the Jewish Sukkot holiday. Some of these traditions were — and still are — massive events. The Italian American Giglio Feast in Williamsburg runs for 12 days in July, culminating with the dancing of the Giglio, a flower-laden steeple of wood over 80 feet high, carried through the streets by hundreds of men. Library of Congress A man crafting a steel drum to celebrate the West Indian Day Parade. The West Indian Day Parade, meanwhile, occurs over Labor Day weekend and brings elaborate costumes, steel pan ensembles, and countless spectators to Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights. The project documented African Americans, Greek Americans, Polish Americans, Puerto Ricans, Irish Americans, Chinese Americans, Ukrainian Americans, and many other Brooklynites, capturing uniquely urban folklife practices such as pigeon flying and games like boccie and skelly. These cultural celebrations represented a profound act of placemaking, transforming Brooklyn's streets into stages for traditions carried on from distant homelands. However, other factors would cause many of these close-knit neighborhoods to struggle financially — including gentrification. The Quiet Rise Of Gentrification While established immigrant communities maintained their cultural traditions, a different demographic was quietly reshaping Brooklyn's future. Beginning in the 1960s and accelerating throughout the 1980s, educated middle-class professionals who were priced out of Manhattan became drawn to Brooklyn's tree-lined streets and historic architecture. These so-called "romantic urbanists" were looking for organic connections to history and hints of rural life, settling in Brooklyn neighborhoods, which they gave rustic names, living uneasily among their less privileged neighbors. Some writers and artists had already settled in Brooklyn by the time professionals started arriving in neighborhoods like Park Slope, Cobble Hill, and Carroll Gardens. By the 1970s, Brooklyn was undergoing a "brownstone movement," which involved newcomers renovating brownstones in various neighborhoods, tearing down the aluminum awnings, ripping up the linoleum floors, and, in some cases, completely transforming entire properties. Wikimedia CommonsBrownstones in Park Slope in 2008. By 1982, middle-class couples with modest finances had moved into areas where they lived alongside Irish immigrants, Italian immigrants, and Puerto Ricans, who played a key role in giving Brooklyn its working-class identity. As realtor Austin K. Haldenstein told The New York Times, this new wave of brownstone occupants included "young professionals who either band together in groups and split up a house, or couples who live in one or two floors and rent the rest of the space out. Since prices are high, few single families can afford to buy a brownstone just for themselves." That hadn't always been the case, though. As rents increased in these previously affordable areas, tensions increased between the families who were now being priced out and the white-collar workers moving in. Many of these same tensions remain in Brooklyn to this day. How The 1980s Sowed The Seeds Of Change In Brooklyn Despite the challenges, the 1980s planted seeds that would eventually transform Brooklyn into one of America's most desirable places to live. The borough's rich cultural diversity, festivals, and traditions brought communities together and became a prime example, in a way, of the promise of America. The brownstone movement, meanwhile, proved that Brooklyn's historic architecture could attract newcomers who were seeking alternatives to Manhattan's high costs and towering apartments. Neighborhoods such as Brooklyn Heights, Clinton Hill, and Park Slope slowly transformed as young professionals and families looked to Brooklyn as a more affordable, low-key alternative to living in Manhattan. This process would accelerate in the 1990s when changes to policing helped bring crime rates down, but the foundations were laid in the 1980s by others who were curious or eager enough for change to settle in the borough. The 1980s also witnessed Brooklyn's emergence as a cultural force beyond its ethnic festivals. The decade saw the rise of hip-hop, with Brooklyn artists contributing significantly to the genre's development and popularity. The decade was an energetic, challenging, intense, and sometimes utterly strange one for Brooklyn. But in the end, it ultimately helped pave the way for what the borough is today — for better or worse. After looking through these photos of 1980s Brooklyn, see what life was like in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Then, step into the world of 1980s hair metal. The post 55 Revealing Photos Of 1980s Brooklyn That Show How The Borough Changed Throughout The Decade appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Getting Closer: Bill to End the Schumer Shutdown Officially Passes Senate, Heads to House

A rare intact grave of a Saka warrior has been uncovered in the Karaganda Region of central Kazakhstan. It dates to the 7th–6th centuries B.C. and contains important grave goods accompanying the undisturbed skeletal remains of an adult male, most notably a skillfully crafted double-edged sword that is unique for the region. Archaeologists from the Karaganda Regional History Museum unearthed the warrior tomb in the Karabie burial site in the Aktogay district. They expected to find damaged graves looted in antiquity, as happens in 90% of Saka burials, but when they excavated Kurgan No. 1, the team found the stone ceiling slabs topping the mound still intact. When they removed the slabs, they found the contents of the grave and its occupant untouched. The articulated skeleton of a man was found lying on his back, his head facing northwest. His right hand held a double-bladed bronze akinak sword. Five bronze arrowheads were placed next to his left foot, similar (albeit not as luxurious) as the ones found in the iconic “Golden Man” burial found in 1969 in southeastern Kazakhstan. Near his skull was a delicate golden earring crafted from a base of iron covered in the thinnest gold foil. The akinak is the first of its form and design found in Kazakhstan. It is 30 cm (12 inches) long, and was cast in a single piece, handle and all, with a distinct reinforcing rib. It is intricately ornamented, the handle decorated with the corkscrew shaped horns of the Karaganda argali (wild sheep) at the guard and two large-beaked bird heads representing the steppe eagle and the golden eagle, at the hilt.. This attests to the high level of metalworking skill and artistry of Saka craftsmen. The Saka were a nomadic Eastern Iranian people who inhabited the Eurasian Steppe from the 9th century B.C. through the 5th century A.D. They were related to the Scythian peoples of the western steppe and at their greatest range their territory encompassed all of what is today Kazakhstan. The contents of the burial will now undergo scientific analyses including metal composition, radiocarbon dating and osteological examination to discover the age and origin of the objects and the deceased.. The composition of the bronze is of particular interest, as central Kazakhstan is known to have had extensive copper deposits.