The National WW1 Museum in Kansas City

Kansas City (aka KC) is the largest city in the state of... Missouri. Don't argue, just accept it. It's an interesting city with lots of art, music and food, etc, but sadly the only thing I've had the time to study is the National World War One Museum. I spent appx 90 mins there today. The admission price is a respectable $14, but it does give you admission for two days and if you're an ignorant Yank, you might need two days to digest the enormous collections of this place.

The museum holds thousands upon thousands of artifacts and you can see several movies and clips about (and from) the war. They go into maddening detail about everything from the world situation leading up to the War, via how and when and where it was fought to the aftermath. About half of the exibit is dedicated to the war prior to US entry, and the other half is devoted to the US participation and the effects it had on domestic affairs in America. Mucho interesting stuff here.

All pics here.

The Liberty Monument on top of the museum is one of KC's most famous landmarks.


KC skyline.


The info material describes this sphinx as "gigantic". I don't think that word means what they think it means.


Oh, to live in a time where people were ostracized for not supporting their country in a time of war.


Makes loud kaboom. The Krauts didn't think there was much danger in the US joining the war, as US war material production was already "near capacity". Ah, ye of little faith. Once the unfuckinbelievably huge US economy turned its focus to the war, they soon outproduced the Krauts on every front.


To the upper left you can see "The Red Baron" - Manfred von Richthofen, who downed 80 allied airplanes and suffered the ignominy of having not one, not two, but FIVE hit songs about himself and the fictitious dog Snoopy performed by British band The Royal Guardsmen. Interestingly, the guy to the top right is Hermann Göhring - minus about 100kg from what he looked like in his Nazi days.


This is a part of what was once the world's largest painting, made by some Frenchies. It shows about 5,000 actual people from the War, some political and some military leaders and lots of regular soldiers too. It was bought by some American businessmen who turned the saintly French masterpiece into good old American entertainment before forgetting all about it for years. It was finally rediscovered, partitioned and the better part given to the museum.

Quote of the Day

Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.
- Thomas Sowell

The Truman Museum

The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum lies in Independence, Missouri. I stopped by there for appx 90 minutes on Wednesday afternoon. There's much to be said (and much still being said) about Truman. Personally, I can't forgive him for letting a fuckin nuclear monopoly just slip away, and I think he should have nuked the commies back to the stone ages, but I acknowledge, reluctantly, that I am in a minority on this issue.

The museum shows a lot about his presidency, but considerably less time is devoted to his stronge ties to the Democratic machine/mafia around Kansas City, which made him a senator, and who may have continued to wield influence with him even in the White House. On the other hand, he left office with less than 30% popularity, just like a certain recent prez. Years later, he's generally considered a good prez, something few would have expected at the time...

All pics here.

The museum.


The mural inside, painted by Thomas Hart Benton, grand nephew of the Senator by the same name from Missouri, who served a (then) record 30 years in the Senate.


An exact replica of the Oval Office as it looked during Truman's presidency.


Truman's grave.


One of the most famous errors in US press history.


One of the most famous expressions in American politics.

Kansas Museum of History

The Kansas Museum of History is the state's official museum. It has chronologically sorted displays covering the period from the first settlers (injuns at least 5k years ago) through to the 1980s ("our recent past" as they diplomatically put it).

All pics here.

They had an informative and interesting display about the 1850s, when "bleeding Kansas" was one of the most important political issues facing the nation. Google it, ignoramus.


How a Kansas cabin may have looked like way back when.


A Gatlin gun.


Personally, I think it looks as if there's an ungodly mixture of man and animals going on here, but I may be mistaken.


An injun abode.


A train! Choo choo! Wheeee!


Topeka is the Capital of Kansas.


The Kansas Capitol downtown. Pay no attention to the fuckin huge crane to the right.

Brown vs Board of Education

One of the most famous Supreme Court decisions of all time was handed down on the 17th of May 1954, Norway's Constitution Day. It was written by Chief Justice Earl Warren, whose father came to the US from the west coast of Norway. Coincidence? Communist plot? Cosmic pattern? You decide.

Anyways, the decision is known today as "Brown v Board of Education", and was the landmark case that struck down the doctrine of "separate but equal" in public schools. This had been the law of the land since the Supreme Court's own ruling in "Plessy v Ferguson" in 1896. It was, in many ways, the beginning of the civil rights struggle which reached its high point in the 60s, with everything from voting acts to violent riots.

Wednesday morning I stopped by the Brown v Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas. It is located in the old Monroe School building, Monroe being one of the four "black" elementary schools in Topeka at the time. The exhibit is quite good, especially with all the historical background and personal stories connected to the actual events.

Some of the other stuff, like more recent "civil rights" struggles, which in many cases is socialism by another name (and still stinks), was a little too kumbaya (if you'll pardon the expression) for my taste. But the general impression is very positive.

All pics here.

The old school, built in 1926.




The interior. They had a no-flash policy which effectively killed the opportunity to take pics, since all the exhibits were in quite dark rooms.


A touch of childlike innocence.

Interstate 35

In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, I drove from Wichita to Topeka. I left my motel at the ungodly hour of 5:39 AM, so it took over 20 mins before the sun was over the horizon. When it did peek out, however, I found the sight so arresting as to get out my old cam and fire away. I present you with the results:

There was nothing special about this stop, except that it was named Knut Rockne, after the American-Norwegian football player.


The sunrise.

Quote of the Day

A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice.
- Edgar Watson Howe

Oklahoma History Center

The Oklahoma History Center would like to give you the impression that they are a 3-story building jam packed with fascinating things. Sadly, from my estimate less than half of the building is taken up by, you know, actual STUFF, like artifacts, displays and the likes. The whole second floor is just offices, and much of the rest too. How the fuck many people do you need to run a museum???

Anyway, as museums go it's not a bad one. Most of the exhibits are actually both interesting and informative and I'm not blaming the museum for the fact that my back started acting up and cut short an otherwise nice Tuesday morning stroll.

All pics here.

I had no idea that Clarence Nash, the voice of Donald Duck, was from Oklahoma, nor Brad Pitt or Ron Howard. The museum had an interesting movie exhibit where they had bios on just about every Oklahoman (is that even a word?) that had ever contributed to a movie in addition to lots of posters, various equipment etc, etc. Slightly desperate in some cases, but also interesting.


A 51 Studebaker. I'm not really interested in cars as such, but I do value the aesthetics of a fine vehicle.


They had an exhibit featuring all the 39 injun tribes in Oklahoma, which is also known as the Native State. T'was the destination of several eastern tribes during the Trail of Tears in the late 1830s. Ah, Andrew Jackson, you magnificent fuck.




I believe this statue was called "Monarch at rest".


The Oklahoma State Capitol was just up the road.

Quote of the Day

If one is going to err, one should err on the side of liberty and freedom.
- Kofi Annan

Quote of the Day

It is not so difficult a task to plant new truths, as to root out old errors; for there is this paradox in men, they run after that which is new, but are prejudiced in favor of that which is old.
- Charles Caleb Colton

Science Museum

Next door to the Cowgirl Museum is the Forth Worth Museum of Science and History. I saw fuck all that could be interpreted as history, so I'm just going to refer to it as "the science museum". Sue me. Also, if you keep your Cowgirl Museum sticker, you get half price on the admission to the science museum.

They had various exhibits there, but again much of it was too clearly directed towards kids. I have nothing against museums having a kids' department or including children in their activities, but I'd like to see some stuff for adults too.

Anyways, I attended two IMAX presentations; one was a hopelessly outdated (and sickeningly politically correct) movie about the Arctic, narrated by that famous scientist Meryl Streep. Some great shots of polar bears and caribou and nature and all (some of it was filmed at Svalbard, wooo hooo), but it could do without the inane comments and the horrible, horrible "music" by Paul McCartney.

The other was a presentation of the solar system, but the darkness of the "planetarium" and the generally boring movie put me to sleep for half of it. These IMAX presentations are add-ons, so you don't have to throw your money away. On the other hand, there are several shows on various topics, and I can't vouch for the quality (or lack thereof) of any of the other presentations.

The one presentation that was actually both interesting and amusing, was a speech on the famous "Le Petomane", given by a scientist. Until right up to the starting point of the lecture, I was actually the only paying guest in the room and was even greeted with a handshake and an amusingly desperate attempt at small talk by one of the staffers. Happily, a few other lost souls wandered in, saving us all from embarrasment.

The Science Museum in all its splendor.


Le Petomane.


A dinosaur exhibition.




Close up of a dino skull.


They had a quite large exhibit on cattle farming.


The temporary "Grossology" exhibit had lots of funny presentations on various bodily functions and fluids.


Several kids were cheerfully pumping water into this figure to create burping sounds.

Cowgirl Museum

Saturday I went down to the museum district of Fort Worth. I first went into the National Cowgirl Museum, which is a splendid place. They have tons of informative and entertaining stuff on everything from Dale Evans (Roy Roger's sidekick) to today's animated figures and everything in between. They also had a temporary exhibit by western photographer Barbara Van Cleve, which featured many moving images.

The museum tells the story of how women were included in rodeos and the likes (not without opposition!) and shows you a bit about how life was and still is for women on many ranches out west. Hard work, but rewarding. Kids growing up on a farm are so much more independent than the couch potatos I teach. Sigh.

Sadly, they had a no photo policy so you'll just have to take my word for it - if you're ever in Fort Worth, go there and enjoy the show.

The museum from the outside.


Sacka... Sachkwa... Saqua... awww, fuck this. The woman who acted as a scout and a translator for Lewis & Clark. Sacagawea. Yeah, that's it.


This somewhat strange figure hangs in the lobby. It is of a woman whose name I can not recall. She performed this stunt where she'd jump on horseback into a body of water.

Sam Houston

Friday I drove from Houston up to Fort Worth, which is kinda like a twin city to Dallas. The two cities are slowly growing together to the point where it's hard to say where one ends and the other begins. On the way up I spied with my bleary little eye a fuckin huge statue and my interest was piqued to the point where I just had to get off the freeway and go back.

It turned out to be a statue of that magnificent Texas statesman, Sam Houston. Unbeknownst to yours truly I was now in the vicinity of Huntsville, TX, where Houston spent the later years of his life. Houston came west after being born in Virginia and having spent his early years largely in Tennessee, where he rose to become governor. After Texas was adopted as the 28th state he became governor here too, and he is the only man to have been governor of two different states.

Houston's an interesting character, not just because of his political exploits, which also included two stints as president of the Republic of Texas, but also because of his more personal history. Of Scots-Irish stock, he spent years among the Cherokees and became a citizen of that nation and even took a wife from them. He participated in the War of 1812. He beat a Congressman over the head with a cane and fled to Mexico rather than pay the fine. He was also into funny handshakes.

Though a slave owner and a Southerner, he opposed the spread of slavery and supported strongly the union he had fought so hard to include Texas in. During a debate in the Senate, he uttered these words, which I thought interesting to include here for their almost prophetic foresight: "... what fields of blood, what scenes of horror, what mighty cities in smoke and ruins– it is brother murdering brother ... I see my beloved South go down in the unequal contest, in a sea of blood and smoking ruin."

Houston, in short, was one of those colorful characters one can so often read about, but which are sadly lacking in today's clinical society. When Civil War came, he refused to swear allegiance to the Confederacy and was forced out of the governorship. He retired to Huntsville, where he died in 1863, aged 70. The city of Houston is named after him and he remains possibly the greatest hero Texas has ever produced.



The statue is 77 feet high, including the foundation. It is the largest monument to an historical person in the United States (or so they claim).