Imperial War Museum North In a building designed by world famous architect Daniel Libeskind, this branch of the Imperial War Museum explores the impact of modern conflicts on people and society chronologically in six thematic displays. The walls of the gallery are used as screens for the projection of hourly...
Rosh Hashanah began last night, September 28th, at sunset and will not officially end until tomorrow night. Let’s party like it’s 5772! And speaking of Jews, probably one of the most random museums ever is the National Museum of American Jewish Military. No disrespect here. After all, I have a...
Here’s to America’s military veterans with one of my postcards from Great Britain. “The Army Isn’t All Work”, Imperial War Museum North, Manchester.
Let’s continue our celebration of all things American with Iowa’s Freedom Rock. It all started back in 1999, when a local artist named Ray “Bubba” Sorenson II from Menlo, Iowa saw the film Saving Private Ryan. It inspired him to honour America’s veterans every year on Memorial Day by repainting...
As teenagers my one friend and I were a little bit strange (actually we still are) in that we came up with a monthly holiday known as “Stabbage Day” to celebrate her growing collection of stolen restaurant knives (mostly collected at the various ‘Golden’ establishments across Chicago). It was always...
On the 71st anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Attack let me tell you about another war memorial, the former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters (also known as the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum) on Okinawa. During World War II an elaborate underground series of hundred-long meter tunnels were built under a...
Located in Largo, Florida between Tampa and St. Pete, the Armed Forces Military Museum has a random, life-sized replica of an Iraqi Freedom-era Saddam Hussein holding a Mars Bar. It was the late dictator’s favorite candy bar, according to a small label next to his hand. When Hussein was captured...
I have never lived through a war zone, but I do appreciate a good joke. The Siege of Sarajevo has been memorialised in books, films, and numerous monuments, including a can of beef. During the nearly four-year siege of the Bosnian War, 160,000 tons of food and medicine were airlifted...
For anyone following this blog long enough, well, you’ve probably noticed an obsession with miniature museums. From Zarifa Salahova’s collection of miniature edition books in Azerbaijan to the 105 models of historic buildings at Miniatürk we’ve covered a lot of small stuff. One day I hope to find out why...
On this day 80 years ago, America’s first official Public Enemy Number One John Dillinger was shot to death by FBI agents as he exited the Biograph Theater in Chicago after seeing the Clark Gable gangster film Manhattan Melodrama. At FBI headquarters in Virginia there is a collection of firearms...
