Las Vegas Atomic Testing Museum review

The museum is a very short cab ride away from the Strip and is a good way to spend an hour or two after losing your car and first born at the craps table.  It was put together really well and contains a lot of authentic artifacts.  My only complaint was that there was too much information (text) that went along with each display.

Adult tickets are $12.  No photography allowed.

This is some of the cool stuff I learned and saw:

1. The atomic cannon (1953).  This was the first and only atomic cannon.  The shell delivered 15 kiloton's worth of nuclear goodness.

2. Testing near Vegas Strip.  I had no idea how close the testing was.  You could actually see the mushroom cloud from Fremont Street.

3. Kosmos 954 (1978).  A nuclear powered Soviet satellite crashed into the Canadian wilderness.  Full story here.

4. Bikini Atoll test (1946): The water-borne test left me speechless.

Here is a great overview of the museum:

Museum website.

U.S. withdrawal from Iraq/Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan

Iraq/Kuwait border, 2010:

Afghanistan/Soviet border, 1989:

Japanese PM avoids Yasukuni Shrine and "apologizes"

For the first time, Japan's prime minister decided not to visit the Yasukuni shrine on the anniversary of Japan's surrender.  The shrine honors and respects the war dead, including about a dozen war criminals.  This has always been a source of tension between Japan on one side and Korea and China on the other.

This is a pretty big deal, especially for East Asians.  But of course, it had to take a non-LDP leader to make the bold and unpopular decision.  PM Kan's "apology" was pretty strong and sincere as well:


"We caused great damage and suffering to many nations during the war, especially to the people of Asia," Kan told a crowd of about 6,000 at an annual memorial service for the war dead at Budokan hall in Tokyo.
"We feel a deep regret, and we offer our sincere feelings of condolence to those who suffered and their families," he said. "We renew our promise to never wage war, and we promise to do our utmost to achieve eternal world peace and to never repeat again the mistake of war."  Source.

But leave it up to Le Pen and his compatriots to stir things up:

 

Locations of atomic nuclear detonations and tests

Today is the 65th anniversary of the bombing in Hiroshima.  This is an animation showing all of the blasts that took place between 1945 and 1998.  It is truly shocking.  If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, skip to 12:10, when the artist summarizes the locations and attributes them to each nuclear power.

 

Citroen XM, the Berlin Wall, and Red Square

In 1990, two Dutchmen (who else?) drove a Citroen XM from Paris to Moscow and back.  There are incredible images of old French and Soviet-era cars, the crumbling Berlin Wall, and Warsaw Pact roads before they became clogged with third-hand Audis.  And is it just me, or were the XM's tires under inflated?

Female Imams in China (and female mosques)

Genghis Khan Tech Museum exhibit review/Bay Area San Francisco Mongolian Naadam festival July 10

Here is my one word review of the Genghis Khan exhibit at the Tech Museum in San Jose: Disappointing.

The official billboard/banner should give you a clue as to the amount of thought, creativity, and effort they put into the show.

I paid $25 to see this.  I could have bought 50 paperbacks at a library book sale with that money.

My review will be just as simplistic, disjointed, and passionless as the exhibit.  There were many replicas.  The exhibit's lighting was poor (too dark, almost cave-like).  The mini-films projected on the walls were blurrier and shakier than The Blair Witch Project on meth.  Of the 200 or so "artifacts", only a handful were from the time of Genghis Khan.  I could have learned more from reading his Wikipedia page.  Did I mention it was $25?!  The only cool "object" was a mummy of a woman they found in Mongolia.  What did it have to do with Genghis Khan?  I have no idea.  I suspect that a second-rate museum in a provincial Mongolian town would be more interesting (and have better artifacts) than this.

13th century bronze passport

13th-14th century cavalry iron saber

Iron armor

The only positive thing I got out of this was that I learned that there will be a Naadam Festival at Golden Gate Park this July 10 from 10 am to 4 pm.  I will post the details once I find a Mongolian translator as all the info about the event is on a Mongolian website.  I think it's at Speedway Meadow.

Minute Stories of Famous Explorers by Jerome S. Kates (1934)

I really dig library book sales.  All paperbacks are 50 cents and hardcovers are a dollar.  I found this gem this weekend.  It's a 1934 book that describes the exploits of 73 explorers, some more famous than others.  The format is right up my alley.  On the left side, you have a hand drawn map with the explorer's route(s).  Accompanying each map are three illustrations showing his hardships.  On the right side is a brief blurb about the man and his accomplishment.  Here is a sampling:

The cover.  The book is in pretty decent shape, save the missing spine.

The paper stock is thick and sturdy.  I can't tell if this is a children's book or not.

The list of explorers.

Part 2 of the list.

This page is on the left side and shows Lief Ericsson's journey and travails.

This is the right side and describes his accomplishment.

Here is a more obscure explorer.  Salmon Andree tried to fly over the North Pole with a balloon.  He was not successful.

Andree's fateful trip.

The other two Varyags: The Russo-Japanese ship and the Chinese casino

The Russian navy's guided missile cruiser Varyag is docked in San Francisco and open to visitors tomorrow.  The history of its two predecessors are full of intrigue and had A LOT of unexpected owners.

Varyag I.  Varyag means Viking, BTW.

• The cruiser was built in and launched out of Philadelphia in 1899.
• Commissioned into Imperial Russian Navy in 1901.
• In battle against Japan in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the crew sank it on purpose off of Incheon, Korea.
• The Imperial Japanese Navy salvaged it and it served as the light cruiser Soya.
• During World War I, Japan and Russia were allies so the ship was returned to Russia at Vladivostok in 1916 and renamed the Varyag.
• Sent to Great Britain for overhaul so that it could be used in Russia's Arctic squadron.
• Because of October Revolution in 1917, the British seized it.
• Sold to Germany for scrap in 1920.
• While en route to Germany, it sunk off of a Scottish village.

Varyag II.  

• The aircraft carrier project began in the Soviet Union in 1985.
• After the breakup of the USSR, the unfinished ship was transferred to Ukrainian ownership in 1992.
• With no engines, rudders, or electronics, it was put up for auction in 1998.
• A dummy corporation in Macau snatched it up under the false pretense that it was going to be turned into a casino.  
• In 2002, it reached Dalian, China, where it is being converted into a Chinese aircraft carrier.

Here are some cool Varyag II photos from here.

Under construction in the Ukraine.

Being towed near Turkey.

Dalian shipyard in China.

2008 photo.

Full-scale training mock-up in Wuhan.

Tiananmen Square Massacre editorial cartoon taken down

21 years ago, pro-democracy activists were mowed down by Chinese military tanks and AKs.  A whole generation has passed and it has been almost completely forgotten, even by the Western media.

Well, it's still remembered by some of the population in China, and by the censors.  If you text "6" and "4" together (for June 4, the anniversary date), sirens go off and the authorities are alerted.

But it didn't stop Guanzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily.  It recently published this cartoon by Xiang Ma, who not so subtly drew "tank man" and the torch held by the Goddess of Liberty.  The cartoon itself, and reader comments that accompanied it, were promptly taken down.

Nuclear fallout in Soviet Kazakhstan

I am reading Apples Are From Kazakhstan.  My plan was to post an entertaining Youtube video about golden eagles or the very artificial city of Astana.  But I came across this documentary put out by Al Jazeera instead.  It's about the 450 plus nuclear tests the Soviets performed in a small area in eastern Kazakhstan called the Polygon.  Be advised that some of the birth defects shown are very disturbing.  The bullshit comes from the Russians, who blame the cancer and disease on a lack of fruits and vegetables in the Kazakh diet.

Putting out Kuwaiti oil fires, Warsaw Pact style

Hungarian genius + captured Iraqi T34 tank - turret + 2 MiG 21 jet engines = Great Wind.

Go to 0:18.

Cold War NATO planes landing on autobahn

Ah, 1980s nostalgia.  This video has it all.  1980s NATO combat aircraft.  Cold War exercise.  On the West German autobahn.

Via Stipistop.

In the Footsteps of Marco Polo video

I just watched a 90 minute documentary on PBS.  It's about two Americans who retraced Marco Polo's journey in the early 1990s, right after the fall of the Soviet Union.  The production value is so-so but the story is amazing.  You can watch the entire documentary online.  My favorite parts include:

• World of Warlords (their meeting with a Northern Alliance warlord and being kidnapped by AK-47 brandishing Hazaras).
• Through the Wakhan Corridor.
• The Deserts of Western China (Kashgar and the Talkamakan).
• Mongolia and Tibet.

2010 Moscow Russia Victory Day military parade on board cameras tanks planes

Moscow Russian Victory Parade rehearsal

This is my favorite parade.  The Soviet era aircraft, ZIL limousine convertibles, and mobile missile launchers rawk!  This is the 65th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War, by the way.

When will Kazakhstan export a good movie?

Nomad co-stars Mark Dacascos, the dude from Iron Chef America.

Kazakhstani movies shown in the United States are hard to come by.  So far, I've only seen three feature length films from the Central Asian republic.  Mongol was overdone.  Gift to Stalin was mediocre.  And Nomad was unwatchable.  The young nation's even younger film industry has plenty of petrodollar funding, but is seriously lacking in plot lines, screenwriting, and independence.  To a certain extent, the movies all seem to be mouthpieces for the Nazarbayev government.  These are the themes I've picked up, Cliffs' Notes style:

• Our vast steppes are beautiful.
• We hate our recent Russian conquerors.
• We despise the Chinese and must remain vigilant of their aggressions.
• Our vast oil and gas reserves make us strong.
• In order to succeed, individual Kazakhs must set aside our differences and stick together (as in abandon differing political philosophies and any opposition to the government?).
• Our Kazakh supreme leader is just and wise, and we are truly blessed to have him guide our nation.

I demand a low-budget, well-made, independent Kazakh film about contemporary, realistic characters.  No more preachy epics please.

In conclusion, this Tupac homage is still the best.

King Tut museum exhibit rip-off

King Tut* exhibit at the DeYoung Museum.

*Exhibit does not include King Tut's death mask, which is on every ad plastered all over the city, print ads, and the internet; the mummy itself, his inner sarcophagus, or his outer sarcophagus.

Enjoy.

Photo credit.

1972 Pontiac propaganda film: Protectionist Xenophobes Unite!

Via Japanese Nostalgic Car.

Boron Vacation Part 2: The Town of Boron And the Twenty Mule Team

After my meal at Domingo's, I promptly check into the Boron Motel and fall asleep. The motel, not surprisingly, is run by an Indian family.

Twenty Mule Team Road in Boron, looking east

Twenty Mule Team Road in Boron, looking west

There is a high concentration of borax in the Mojave Desert. In the late 1800s, mule trains lugged borax from Death Valley to civilization. Someone experimented with different combinations and concluded that a twenty mule team was the optimum number of mules to pull two wagons of borax and 1,200 gallons of water 165 miles through the scorching desert. There are two 50-plus mile stretches with no water. Temperatures sometimes topped 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Each team pulled a total of 36 tons 17 miles a day. Between 1883 and 1889, the mule teams hauled 20 million tons of borax without a single breakdown. Hence the "twenty mule team" and the road in Boron named after it.

In the 1920s, a doctor picked the current location of the town of Boron to build a sanitarium for patients with respiratory ailments. While digging for a well, he struck borax. The rest, as they say, is history. Now, Boron is the site of the largest open mining pit in California. Half of the world's borax is dug up from this pit, which is just a few miles from town. Most of its residents are affiliated with the white substance in one way or another.

If the town looks familiar, it's because the movie Erin Brakovich was filmed here. Most of the residents are descendants of 1930s Okies, so even though this is California, everyone has an unfamiliar accent.

The next time you're at a grocery store, check the laundry detergent aisle. You'll be surprised to find boxes and boxes of Twenty Mule Team Borax.