This Belongs in a Museum
Bringing you museum-approved grammatical errors and typos since 2010.
Oh, and sorry - I DO NOT FOLLOW BACK!
Tumblr has Kim Jong-il looking at things and Kim Jong-un looking at things but what it really needs is a random North Korea museum. Yeah, they do have those things over there, maybe sometime in the future Kim Jong-un will look at one. If you want to get a different perspective on the Korean War, and can somehow get inside North Korea, then go visit the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum (watch the dramatic video here).n English speaking guide (properly dressed in a military uniform of course) guides visitors around to tell the North Korean version of the Korean War, or the DPRK’s struggle against the Japanese and, later on, the “imperialist aggressors” aka the Americans. With over 80 exhibition halls, there are many pieces of original military equipment, weapons and vehicles, including U.S. captured planes. A helicopter that was shot down is next to a photograph of American pilots surrendering. The North Koreans claim much of the museum collection was seized after the “liberation” of Seoul during the war. The most impressive part comes at the end…a revolving room in what is thought to be the biggest 360 degree panorama in the world. The background of the room is painted (40 people worked on it apparently) with battle scenes while war elements, such as weapons, military vehicles, huts, soil, etc. cover the room.
So remember, kids - you can learn things at museums, it might not be true but you do learn something. Oh, and it wasn’t a ceasefire that “ended” the war in 1953, but an armistice, so technically the war’s still going on, even if the DPRK thinks they won and claim to have killed half a million “Yankee imperialists”. One more thing…according to the North Koreans, Kim Jong-il was an absolute phenom at whatever he did. The first time he ever played golf, he shot 38 under par (including 11 holes-in-one). That shit should be in a museum.
Yay! I won a postcard, which I do not actually want or need so instead I will pay it forward to a friend who actually appreciates the gallantry of men like Adlai Stevenson.
Remember this postcard?
I was supposed to announce the winner of the contest (click HERE for details) last week, but life got a little hectic. My apologies.
Anyway, thisbelongsinamuseum is the winner, chosen at random from all the correct entries. (Actually, everyone answered correctly!)
Congratulations, thisbelongsinamuseum! To claim your postcard prize, email me at bad.postcards@gmail.com with your mailing address.
On this date in 1692 the famous Salem witch trials executed five people, one woman and four men, who were convicted of witchcraft (even though that’s open to debate…let’s ask Christine O’Donnell for her expert opinion). The accusations continued into the next month as eight more people were hanged. What’s worse than a public execution you ask (or say a public pressing)? Well, let me tell you! I’d rather be falsely accused of witchcraft than say, I don’t know…have to visit the Salem Witch Museum again. Yes, about 10 years ago I was not yet bitter and still a bit naive to the world, which explains why I fell for this godawful tourist trap. Actually the whole town is bad with the Witch Dungeon Museum, Spellbound Museum, Wax Museum of Witches & Seafarers and New England Museum of Pirates. One memory that sticks out in my mind is painfully standing in a room full of mannequins and strangers listening to pre-recorded audio of the witch trial history. It felt like it was never going to end, but it finally did when some dude burned a witch mannequin. Paying money to “hear” mannequins tell stories in a room with no real collection to speak of makes me want to call the museum police so their “museum” title can be taken away. Yeah, that’s all I could come up with. I’m not a witch! I’m not a witch!
Is that a Picasso or are you just happy to steal me?
1950s Curt Teich Company Postcard from the Lake County Discovery Museum
(via samarov)
Welsh Alphabet Postcard, chart created by T.C. Evans, c. 1900
From Museum of Welsh Life
“Bûm gall unwaith - hynny oedd, llefain pan ym ganed.”
Translation: “I was wise once: when I was born I cried.”
It’s not a songbird, it’s not Led Zeppelin’s airplane, it’s not a even a Musical Instrument Museum…it’s the Museum of Making Music. Get it right, man. Part of the National Association of Music Merchants, the mission of the eleven year old museum in California is to “celebrate the rich history and encourage the future of music making.”
The permanent exhibits tell the history of American popular music from the 19th century to the present, mostly focusing on the manufacture and retail of musical instruments in the music products industry. There are more than 450 vintage instruments and artifacts on display, hundreds of audio samples of obscure early 20th century songs…and yes, they take their name seriously…a place where you can literally make music if you want.
What did I learn? That there’s always a Chicago connection. In the late 19th/early 20th centuries, Chicago was the western hub of the music industry. When I hear the name Lyon & Healy, I always think of the ghost sign on the side their old building on Wabash now owned by DePaul University. Founded in 1864, this harp manufacturer is still in existence today. They were one of the first retailers to use the radio for advertising by sponsoring radio broadcasts of concerts on WGY radio station. Their factory located at Fullerton just west of Pulaski (then Crawford) still stands, even though operations have moved to another part of the city.
Midan El-Tahrir and the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, c1975. Egyptian postcard, photo and copyright reserved by Lehnert & Landrock, K. Lambelet & Co., Cairo.
The only way to recognize Presidents Day is with a bad wax museum picture. And yes, I know…Benjamin Franklin was never President. But some people think he was. So whatever.
Here’s a postcard of Ancient Egyptian Art from the British Museum. Enjoy!
I apologize again for not posting much on this blog. I promise things will be back to normal soon and I’ll be writing more about some of my favorite museums.
“These flat-backed glazed composition amuletic figures of the Four Sons of Horus would have been set within the wrappings of the mummy to protect the internal organs. The human-headed deity is Imsety; the jackal-headed, Duametef; the falcon-headed, Qebhsenuef; and the baboon-headed, Hapy. Since the stoppers of the canopic jars containing, respectively, the liver, stomach, intestines and lungs were carved in their heads, these gods are often known as the canopic deities. Late New Kingdom (ca. 1000 BC)”
