BATON ROUGE -- Before the largest paid attendance in Alex Box Stadium history, No. 22 LSU beat Mississippi State, 9-6, Sunday and swept the weekend series in the final regular season contest at the historic ballpark.

After the victory, over 100 former LSU players spanning seven decades of baseball in Alex Box Stadium joined current players, coaches, fans and LSU Athletics Director and legendary Tiger baseball coach Skip Bertman to commemorate 70 years in “The Box."

The Tigers (35-16-1, 15-11-1 SEC), winners of 12 consecutive games, swept their third straight SEC series for the first time since the 1991 national championship season. Mississippi State dropped to 20-32 and 7-20 in the SEC.

LSU is in first place in the SEC Western Division, 1.5 games ahead of Alabama and Ole Miss. The Tigers’ 12-game win streak is the longest by an LSU squad since the 2000 club won 13 in a row at the end of its national championship season.

Fans couldn’t take their seats with them Sunday after the last regular season game at LSU’s Alex Box Stadium, but they could take their memories and, if they wanted, a souvenir T-shirt or program.

Like nearly everyone else at the ballpark, Bobby Box left with more than a few of each those things.

Box, 55, a Baton Rouge resident who is the nephew of the stadium’s namesake, recounted growing up a few blocks from the stadium named years before in honor of an uncle he never met.

As a youth, he would ride his bike over to the stadium with his friends and shag foul balls for the baseball team, Box said Sunday during the regular season finale against Mississippi State. In return for foul balls, he said, the players gave the children their cracked wooden bats, which Box and his friends taped up and used in their own games.

Box knew all about his family’s legacy attached to the stadium — his father, Neal, had told him at an early age about Alex Box, an LSU baseball and football player and U.S. Army first lieutenant killed in North Africa during World War II.

But for Bobby Box — and about 6,555 other fans who crowded into the stadium for one more game — the memories weren’t about the name that adorned the stadium, the seats or the field.

It was always about the game.

With a No. 22 ranking, a lead in the SEC Western Division and 12 consecutive wins, some say LSU has put itself in a prime position to host an NCAA regional at Alex Box Stadium one last time.

Can you say Omaha?

But regional sites won’t be announced until the final day of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on May 25, so many fans left the ballpark Sunday afternoon wondering if that was the last game they would see within the stadium’s walls.

That’s the reason why there was no question LSU had to have a ceremony after the game commemorating the park’s history, said Bertman, the outgoing LSU athletic director and architect of the national championship winning program.

Bertman, who said he “fulfilled a lot of dreams" at the old stadium, acknowledged it will be difficult to leave behind the stadium but added that players and fans will make new memories at the new ballpark.

“It would be just another ball yard except for these fans," Bertman said after the post-game ceremony. “The fans made The Box, and they’ll make the new stadium."

The new $31 million Alex Box Stadium is being built at Nicholson Drive and Gourrier Lane, about 1,000 feet south of the present Alex Box Stadium. It will seat more than 8,700 fans — about 1,000 more than the present stadium — and is scheduled to open at the beginning of the 2009 season.

For some fans, however, leaving behind the old stadium on Sunday was still difficult.

Check out the article at The Advocate.

I’ll miss Alex Box, but have to say that I’m very exited about the New Alex Box that’s being built! For more info, check out New Alex Box or LSU Sports.

Labels: Entertainment, History, Sports

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Each year, the April 22 Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Among other things, 1970 in the United States brought with it the Kent State shootings, the advent of fiber optics, "Bridge over Troubled Water," Apollo 13, the Beatles' last album, the death of Jimi Hendrix, and the meltdown of fuel rods in the Savannah River nuclear plant near Aiken, South Carolina -- an incident not acknowledged for 18 years. At the time, most Americans were consuming leaded gas in massive V8 sedans. Heavy industry released smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity[citation needed]. Environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news. The 1970 Earth Day helped to change many peoples' minds.

On April 22, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting the status of environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day on April 22 in 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead another campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. The April 22 Earth Day in 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990. For 2000, Earth Day had the Internet to help link activists around the world. By the time April 22 rolled around, 5,000 environmental groups around the world were on board, reaching out to hundreds of millions of people in a record 184 countries. Events varied: A talking drum chain traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa, for example, while hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., USA.

Earth Day 2000 sent the message loud and clear that citizens the world 'round wanted quick and decisive action on clean energy. Earth Day 2007 was one of the largest Earth Days to date, with an estimated billion people participating in the activities in thousands of places like Kiev, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; Tuvalu; Manila, Philippines; Togo; Madrid, Spain; London; and New York.

Founded by the organizers of the first April 22 Earth Day in 1970, Earth Day Network promotes environmental citizenship and year round progressive action worldwide. Earth Day Network is a driving force steering environmental awareness around the world. Through Earth Day Network, activists connect change in local, national, and global policies. Earth Day Network’s international network reaches over 17,000 organizations in 174 countries, while the domestic program engages 5,000 groups and over 25,000 educators coordinating millions of community development and environmental protection activities throughout the year. Earth Day is the only event celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities. More than a half billion people participate in Earth Day Network campaigns every year.

Check out the article at Wikipedia.

Happy Earth Day - a day late! Our Blue Marble holds so many breathtaking views! Photos don't do them justice... you have to see for yourself! If every day were Earth Day we could all breathe a bit easier!

Labels: History, Images, Politics

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On first look, the uniform worn by Pope Benedict XVI’s bodyguards — the colorful yellow and blue stripey uniforms, the red ostrich feather-plumed helmets, the tights and bloomers — might lead you to think your grandmother could take them on.

You would be gravely mistaken.

The Swiss Guards are renowned in the security community; they are the world’s smallest army, but have an excellent reputation, outstanding capabilities and a noble history. Although tiny in number, they are a force to be reckoned with — an elite, company-sized military force that has defended pontiffs for more than 500 years, a duty that has sometimes demanded bloodshed.

Trained and equipped to fight an armed enemy (should the need arise), they are like the American Marines at the White House and the Beefeaters guarding Buckingham Palace. The Swiss Guards stand watch throughout the Apostolic Palace from the Vatican’s exterior gates to the entrance to the Pope’s private apartments.

As in other elite military units, competition to join the Swiss Guard is fierce. Selection standards are extremely high — all recruits must be unmarried Roman Catholic males between the ages of 19 and 30 who are able to endure grueling 24-hour shifts.

To be selected, a candidate must also be at least 5-foot-8 and have completed military training in the Swiss armed forces.

Carrying on tradition, the selected recruits train to handle swords and the Guard's trademark weapon: a combination spear and battle-axe known as the halberd.

Armed only with Renaissance weaponry, this minuscule army successfully kept Nazi soldiers out of Vatican City during World War II as Germany occupied Rome.

While they still wear armor and carry antique weapons, it’s not all medieval warfare for the Swiss Guards. They must maintain a high degree of physical fitness and master modern weaponry, such as the H&K submachine gun and the SIG Sauer 9 mm pistol. To best protect the Pope, they also train at close-quarters fighting and tactical movement, as well as security and counter-terrorism techniques.

And battle-axe might not be the best tool to ward off religious fanatics determined to pass a message to the Pope or to threaten him, so the guards have also added tear gas and pepper spray to their arsenal.

Across the pond, during the first papal visit to the U.S. since Usama bin Laden accused the pope of leading a “new Crusade” against Muslims, the Swiss Guard will be joined by the very best from the United States as well.

The U.S. Secret Service, responsible for protecting foreign dignitaries alongside local Washington and New York law enforcement, will be providing Benedict XVI and President Bush the utmost protection.

Supervisory Special Agent Ed Donovan gave us the inside scoop that one lucky Secret Service Agent has the very important job of driving the Popemobile. The Secret Service has a long history of working with the Swiss Guard on previous Papal visits as well as presidential visits to the Vatican.

As the pope makes his way to New York this weekend, security measures will be rigorous, from airspace restrictions and blockaded waterways to streets being entirely shut down. Police helicopters will patrol the skies, and the waters will be protected by harbor units and scuba divers stationed in the East River.

While measures will be similar to Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1995, we will see on the streets a very visible uniformed police presence and bomb-sniffing dogs.

The security services have stressed that they are not aware of any specific threats to the pope during this visit, but they recognize that bin Laden was critical of the pontiff in his latest videotape.

While you may not see the Swiss Guard in their eye-catching garb or carrying their trademark halberds on this trip, that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. In fact, it was a plainclothes undercover Swiss Guard who shielded Pope John Paul II and saved his life during a 1981 assassination attempt. The Swiss Guards, undercover and incognito, are on duty to protect the pope at all times.

Check out the article at Fox News.

The Swiss Guard is rich with history and tradition! You gotta have respect for these guys... they adhere to a very strict set of standards and are not to be trifled with! For more info, check out this article at Wikipedia.

For more information regarding Pope Benedict XVI and his Apostolic Journey, check out the Official US Papal Visit website.

Labels: History, Images, Military

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The fiercest reptile ever to terrorize the oceans has been identified from a fossil on a frozen Arctic island.

The huge pliosaur, dubbed "The Monster" by its discoverers, dated from 150 million years ago and boasted 60 dagger-like teeth the size of cucumbers, which it used to rip chunks out of prey.

The 50-foot animal was one of the biggest marine predators to have ever swum and would have been able to take on "anything that moved" in the water.

It was built for speed and power, and with its armory of fangs would have been rivaled in ferocity only by an extinct shark, the megalodon, which lived about 16 million years ago.

Fossilized remains of the pliosaur, which had 10-foot-long jaws, were located on the island of Spitsbergen in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, inside the Arctic Circle.

It was one of 40 fossil creatures found close together on a mountain on Spitsbergen by a team of mainly Norwegian researchers from the University of Oslo Natural History Museum.

Jørn Hurum, who led the expedition, compared the animal to a "medium-sized blue whale with a three-meter-long crocodile skull."

It was twice as big as a killer whale.

The pliosaur, a type of short-necked plesiosaur, was the leading marine predator during the Jurassic Period and is thought to represent an unknown species.

Its body was designed to minimize drag while its enormous flippers propelled it forward in a motion like flying through the water.

A front flipper from "The Monster" was measured at almost 10 feet long.

Fossil bones from the specimen excavated last summer showed that it was almost 50 per cent bigger than the largest confirmed pliosaur, Kronosaurus, from Australia.

An ichthyosaur, another marine predator, from 210 million years ago has previously been identified as being 75 feet long. but its teeth were much smaller than the pliosaur's and it would have chased much smaller prey.

"The pliosaur was much, much fiercer," said Hurum. "The ichthyosaur would have been an oversized fat dolphin by comparison. This animal would have taken chunks out of anything that moved. It was the fiercest marine reptile and the biggest of its era. Its teeth and jaws could crush almost anything."

Dr. Patrick Druckenmiller, a plesiosaur specialist at the University of Alaska Museum, was involved in the discovery.

"Not only is this specimen significant in that it is one of the largest and relatively complete plesiosaurs ever found," said Druckenmiller, "it also demonstrates that these gigantic animals inhabited the northern seas of our planet during the age of dinosaurs."

In 2002 a fossil pliosaur from Mexico was nicknamed the Monster of Aramberri, amid claims that it was up to 65 feet long. However, the measurements have yet to be confirmed.

Angela Milner, associate keeper of paleontology at the Natural History Museum in London, said the find illustrated how different the world was when the animal ruled the seas.

"Svalbard was not so near the North Pole 150 million years ago — there was no ice cap and the climate was much warmer than it is today."

She added: "There are a few isolated bones of huge pliosaurs already known, but this is the first find of a significant portion of a whole skeleton of such a giant."

It has been suggested that the Loch Ness Monster could be a long-necked plesiosaur.

Skeptics, however, have pointed out that the loch is 10,000 years old, whereas plesiosaurs are thought to have died out 65 million years ago.

Check out the article at Fox News.

Sweet! That would be one kick-ass show at Sea World!

Labels: Entertainment, History, Images

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The original Earth-rise - taken by William Anders
during the Apollo 8 mission to the Moon on December 24, 1968.

A Japanese moon probe has replicated the famous Apollo-era "Earth-rise" photograph with modern high-definition imaging.

The Kaguya spacecraft, also called Selene, has been orbiting 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the moon since Oct. 18.

The new Earth-rise image shows our blue world floating in the blackness of space. It is a still shot taken from video made by the craft's high-definition television (HDTV) for space.

A second image, taken from a different location in the lunar orbit, has been dubbed Earth-set. A related series of still images shows our planet setting beyond the lunar horizon.

In the Earth-set image, Earth appears upside-down; visible are Australia and Asia. A region near the moon's south pole is seen in the foreground.

The footage was taken Nov. 7 using equipment provided by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK).

The orbiter mission is run by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Its first high-definition videos of Earth were sent back last month. The mission objectives are to obtain scientific data on the origin and evolution of the moon and to develop the technology for future lunar exploration.

Check out the article at Space.com.

Awesome images... I want to get my hands on that video! Congrats to JAXA on a successful mission, and thanks for sharing!

Labels: History, Images, Space, Technology

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World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

Check out the article at Department of Veteran Affairs website.

Never forget our veterans... past, present or future!

Check out the Veterans Day Wiki page.

Labels: History, Images, Military

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Halloween had its beginnings in an ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead. The Celtic peoples, who were once found all over Europe, divided the year by four major holidays. According to their calendar, the year began on a day corresponding to November 1st on our present calendar. The date marked the beginning of winter. Since they were pastoral people, it was a time when cattle and sheep had to be moved to closer pastures and all livestock had to be secured for the winter months. Crops were harvested and stored. The date marked both an ending and a beginning in an eternal cycle.

The festival observed at this time was called Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween). It was the biggest and most significant holiday of the Celtic year. The Celts believed that at the time of Samhain, more so than any other time of the year, the ghosts of the dead were able to mingle with the living, because at Samhain the souls of those who had died during the year traveled into the otherworld. People gathered to sacrifice animals, fruits, and vegetables. They also lit bonfires in honor of the dead, to aid them on their journey, and to keep them away from the living. On that day all manner of beings were abroad: ghosts, fairies, and demons--all part of the dark and dread.

Samhain became the Halloween we are familiar with when Christian missionaries attempted to change the religious practices of the Celtic people. In the early centuries of the first millennium A.D., before missionaries such as St. Patrick and St. Columcille converted them to Christianity, the Celts practiced an elaborate religion through their priestly caste, the Druids, who were priests, poets, scientists and scholars all at once. As religious leaders, ritual specialists, and bearers of learning, the Druids were not unlike the very missionaries and monks who were to Christianize their people and brand them evil devil worshippers.

As a result of their efforts to wipe out "pagan" holidays, such as Samhain, the Christians succeeded in effecting major transformations in it. In 601 A.D. Pope Gregory the First issued a now famous edict to his missionaries concerning the native beliefs and customs of the peoples he hoped to convert. Rather than try to obliterate native peoples' customs and beliefs, the pope instructed his missionaries to use them: if a group of people worshipped a tree, rather than cut it down, he advised them to consecrate it to Christ and allow its continued worship.

In terms of spreading Christianity, this was a brilliant concept and it became a basic approach used in Catholic missionary work. Church holy days were purposely set to coincide with native holy days. Christmas, for instance, was assigned the arbitrary date of December 25th because it corresponded with the mid-winter celebration of many peoples. Likewise, St. John's Day was set on the summer solstice.

Samhain, with its emphasis on the supernatural, was decidedly pagan. While missionaries identified their holy days with those observed by the Celts, they branded the earlier religion's supernatural deities as evil, and associated them with the devil. As representatives of the rival religion, Druids were considered evil worshippers of devilish or demonic gods and spirits. The Celtic underworld inevitably became identified with the Christian Hell.

The effects of this policy were to diminish but not totally eradicate the beliefs in the traditional gods. Celtic belief in supernatural creatures persisted, while the church made deliberate attempts to define them as being not merely dangerous, but malicious. Followers of the old religion went into hiding and were branded as witches.

The Christian feast of All Saints was assigned to November 1st. The day honored every Christian saint, especially those that did not otherwise have a special day devoted to them. This feast day was meant to substitute for Samhain, to draw the devotion of the Celtic peoples, and, finally, to replace it forever. That did not happen, but the traditional Celtic deities diminished in status, becoming fairies or leprechauns of more recent traditions.

The old beliefs associated with Samhain never died out entirely. The powerful symbolism of the traveling dead was too strong, and perhaps too basic to the human psyche, to be satisfied with the new, more abstract Catholic feast honoring saints. Recognizing that something that would subsume the original energy of Samhain was necessary, the church tried again to supplant it with a Christian feast day in the 9th century. This time it established November 2nd as All Souls Day--a day when the living prayed for the souls of all the dead. But, once again, the practice of retaining traditional customs while attempting to redefine them had a sustaining effect: the traditional beliefs and customs lived on, in new guises.

All Saints Day, otherwise known as All Hallows (hallowed means sanctified or holy), continued the ancient Celtic traditions. The evening prior to the day was the time of the most intense activity, both human and supernatural. People continued to celebrate All Hallows Eve as a time of the wandering dead, but the supernatural beings were now thought to be evil. The folk continued to propitiate those spirits (and their masked impersonators) by setting out gifts of food and drink. Subsequently, All Hallows Eve became Hallow Evening, which became Hallowe'en--an ancient Celtic, pre-Christian New Year's Day in contemporary dress.

Virtually all present Halloween traditions can be traced to the ancient Celtic day of the dead. Halloween is a holiday of many mysterious customs, but each one has a history, or at least a story behind it. The wearing of costumes, for instance, and roaming from door to door demanding treats can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of the Christian era, when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and around, along with fairies, witches, and demons. Offerings of food and drink were left out to placate them. As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like these dreadful creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This practice is called mumming, from which the practice of trick-or-treating evolved. To this day, witches, ghosts, and skeleton figures of the dead are among the favorite disguises. Halloween also retains some features that harken back to the original harvest holiday of Samhain, such as the customs of bobbing for apples and carving vegetables, as well as the fruits, nuts, and spices cider associated with the day.

Today Halloween is becoming once again and adult holiday or masquerade, like mardi Gras. Men and women in every disguise imaginable are taking to the streets of big American cities and parading past grinningly carved, candlelit jack o'lanterns, re- enacting customs with a lengthy pedigree. Their masked antics challenge, mock, tease, and appease the dread forces of the night, of the soul, and of the otherworld that becomes our world on this night of reversible possibilities, inverted roles, and transcendency. In so doing, they are reaffirming death and its place as a part of life in an exhilarating celebration of a holy and magic evening.

Check out the article at About.com.

Interesting article! It's amazing how traditions have changed as times have become more modern... yet, some things have a persistent staying power. Why is that?

For more info, check out the Halloween Wiki Entry.

Happy Halloween!

Labels: Entertainment, History, Images

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With a series of small beeps from a spiky globe 50 years ago Thursday, the world shrank and humanity's view of Earth and the cosmos expanded.

Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, was launched by the Soviets and circled the globe Oct. 4, 1957. The Space Age was born. And what followed were changes to everyday life that people now take for granted.

What we see on television, how we communicate with each other, and how we pay for what we buy have all changed with the birth of satellites.

Communications satellites helped bring wars and celebrations from thousands of miles away into our living rooms. When we go outside, weather satellites show us whether we need to carry an umbrella or flee a hurricane. And global positioning system satellites even keep us from getting lost on unfamiliar streets.

Sputnik gave birth to more than mere technology. The threat of a Soviet-dominated space spurred the U.S. government to increase tenfold money spent on science, education and research. Satellite pictures of Earth inspired an embryonic environmental movement.

Spy and communications satellites also kept the world at relative peace, experts say. Just last week, scientists used commercial satellite images to document human rights violations in Myanmar.

When Sputnik was launched, the public thought a space future would consist of gigantic space stations and colonies on the moon and other planets. The fear was warfare in space raining down on Earth.

"The reality is that the things we expected did not come to pass, and the things that we did not fathom changed our lives in so many ways that we cannot even envision a life that's different at this point," said Roger Launius, senior curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

America got a taste of that in May 1998. Just one communications satellite malfunctioned. More than 30 million pagers went silent. Credit card payment approvals didn't work. National Public Radio and CNN's Airport Television Network went off the air in some places.

"The civilization we live in today is as different from the one that we lived in the mid-1950s as the mid-1950s were from the American revolution," said Howard McCurdy, an American University public policy professor. "It's hard to imagine these things happening without space. I guess I could have a computer, but I wouldn't be able to get on the Internet."

All thanks to an 184-pound metal ball with spikes shot into space by a country that doesn't exist anymore.

"The launch of Sputnik actually triggered heightened interest among the American people, not only in space, but in science, mathematics and education," said White House science adviser John Marburger. "It also opened up people's eyes to the possibility that space could actually be used for something."

Check out the article at Fox News.

It's amazing the technology that hostility and competition can breed. Where would we be now if not for the World Wars and the Cold War? I don't think we could even imagine!

Sputnik was not the original plan by the Russians... they used rockets from their ICBM program and threw together the simple little sphere with a radio transmitter in an effort to beat the USA to space. The only thing that they actually accomplished was to show the world that it could be done and that they did it first, and to broadcast the "Beep Heard Around the World."

Check out the:

• Sputnik I Photo Gallery (Fox)
• Sputnik I Photo Gallery (ABC)
• Sputnik I Wiki Entry
• Original Audio of Sputnik's Beep

Labels: History, Space, Technology

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The moon should be developed as a sanctuary for civilization in case of a cataclysmic cosmic impact, according to an international team of experts.

NASA already has blueprints to create a permanent lunar outpost by the 2020s.

But that plan should be expanded to include a way to preserve humanity's learning, culture, and technology if Earth is hit by a doomsday asteroid or comet, said Jim Burke of International Space University (ISU) in France.

An impact of the size that wiped out the dinosaurs hasn't happened since long before the rise of humans, he pointed out.

Yet scientists' expanding knowledge of asteroids and craters left throughout the solar system has created a consensus that Earth remains vulnerable to a civilization-crushing collision.

This calls for the creation of a space age Noah's ark, Burke said.

Lunar Ark

Humans are just beginning to send trinkets of technology and culture into space. NASA's recently launched Phoenix Mars Lander, for example, carries a mini-disc inscribed with stories, art, and music about Mars.

The Phoenix lander is a "precursor mission" in a decades-long project to transplant the essentials of humanity onto the moon and eventually Mars.

The International Space University team is now on a more ambitious mission: to start building a "lunar biological and historical archive," initially through robotic landings on the moon.

Laying the foundation for "rebuilding the terrestrial Internet, plus an Earth-moon extension of it, should be a priority," Burke said.

The founders of the group Alliance to Rescue Civilization (ARC) agreed that extending the Internet from the Earth to the moon could help avert a technological dark age following "nuclear war, acts of terrorism, plague, or asteroid collisions."

But the group also advocates creating a moon-based repository of Earth's life, complete with human-staffed facilities to "preserve backups of scientific and cultural achievements and of the species important to our civilization," said ARC's Robert Shapiro, a biochemist at New York University.

"In the event of a global catastrophe, the ARC facilities will be prepared to reintroduce lost technology, art, history, crops, livestock, and, if necessary, even human beings to the Earth," Shapiro said.

"The establishment of an ARC sanctuary would for the first time provide a compelling purpose for the colonization of space."

If the international lunar outpost of the 2020s expands into a colony and then a city, "it is possible that a whole new phase in civilization may develop—the branching of history into one stream on Earth and another on the moon," ISU's Burke added.

This "dual-world expansion" could be within reach by the end of this century, he said.

"Look at the last century, when we went from the Wright brothers to the Apollo missions—along with man's great expansion of his understanding of the cosmos."

Check out the article at National Geographic News.

What an exciting venture! I think that it's an excellent contingency plan for the preservation of our civilization... and yet another justification for the space program!

Labels: History, Space, Technology

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NEW YORK — Mourners across the country bowed their heads in silence Tuesday to mark the moments exactly six years earlier when hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. The dreary skies created a grim backdrop, and a sharp contrast to the clear blue of that morning in 2001.

"That day we felt isolated, but not for long and not from each other," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said as the first ceremony began. "Six years have passed, and our place is still by your side."

Construction equipment now fills the vast city block where the World Trade Center once stood. The work under way for four new towers forced the ceremony's move away from the twin towers' footprints and into a nearby park for the first time.

As people clutched framed photos of their lost loved ones, Kathleen Mullen, whose niece Kathleen Casey died in the attacks, said the park was close enough.

On this sixth anniversary, presidential politics and the health of ground zero workers loomed, perhaps more than any other.

The firefighters and first responders who helped rescue thousands that day in 2001 and later recovered the dead were to read the victims' names for the first time. Many of those rescuers are now ill with respiratory problems and cancers themselves, and they blame the illnesses on exposure to the fallen towers' toxic dust.

For the first time, the name of a victim who survived that towers' collapse but died five months later of lung disease blamed on the dust she inhaled was added to the official roll.

Felicia Dunn-Jones, an attorney, was working a block from the World Trade Center. She became the 2,974th victim linked to the four crashes of the hijacked airliners in New York, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pa., where federal investigators say the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 fought the hijackers on the rallying cry "Let's roll!"

A memorial honoring Flight 93's 40 passengers and crew began at 9:45 a.m., shortly before the time the airliner nosedived into the empty field.

"As American citizens, we're all looking at our heroes," said Kay Roy, whose sister Colleen Fraser, of Elizabeth, N.J., died when the plane went down.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff also spoke to the mourners, telling them: "You have my promise that we will continue to work every single day to protect the people of this country, all in the name of those who perished heroically on Flight 93."

In New York, drums and bagpipes played as an American flag saved from the collapse was carried toward a stage.

Firefighters shared the platform with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who many victims' families and firefighters had said shouldn't speak at the service to keep from politicizing it.

Giuliani has made his performance after the 2001 terrorist attacks the cornerstone of his presidential campaign, but the Republican has said his desire to be there Tuesday was entirely personal.

"It was a day with no answers, but with an unending line of people who came forward to help one another," he told those gathered.

In Washington, President Bush paused for a moment of silence outside the White House, while Gen. Peter Pace spoke beside the Pentagon wall where one of the hijacked planes broke through.

Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the victims' families that their loved ones will always be remembered.

"I do not know the proper words to tell you what's in my heart, what is in our hearts, what your fellow citizens are thinking today. We certainly hope that somehow these observances will help lessen your pain," he said.

Pace also spoke of the military, calling the anniversary "a day of recommitment." At the main U.S. base at Afghanistan, service members bowed their heads in memory of the victims.

National intelligence director Mike McConnell said U.S. authorities remain vigilant and concerned about "sleeper cells" of would-be terrorists inside the United States. "We're safer but we're not safe," McConnell said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Even though the World Trade Center ceremony gathering was moved out of ground zero, an estimate 3,500 family members descended briefly into the site to lay flowers near the twin towers' footprints.

Among the first family members down the ramp was Marjorie Miller, whose late husband Joel worked at Marsh & McLennan. She said the rain was almost welcome after five consecutive years of Sept. 11 sunshine.

"A lot of tears coming down from up there," she said, gesturing toward the sky, "and a lot of tears down here."

In all, 2,974 victims were killed by the Sept. 11 attacks: 2,750 connected to the World Trade Center, 40 in Pennsylvania and 184 at the Pentagon. Those numbers do not include the 19 hijackers.

Check out the article at Fox News.

Never forget what they did to us on that terrible day in 2001. If it weren't for our troops fighting overseas right now, we would probably have already been reminded of their hatred for us. But, I guess that is something that the anti-war crowd will never realize until it is far too late.

For more 911 images, check out my Never Forget 911 blog post from last year.

Labels: History, Military, Politics

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NEW ORLEANS — On the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, anger over the stalled rebuilding was palpable throughout a city where the mourning for the dead and feeling of loss for flooded homes, schools, snow cone stands, old-time hairstylists and hardware stores doesn't seem to subside.

Hurricane Katrina made landfall south of New Orleans at 6:10 a.m. Aug. 29, 2005, as a strong Category 3 hurricane that flooded 80 percent of the city and killed more than 1,600 people in Louisiana and Mississippi. It was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States.

On Wednesday, protesters planned to march from the obliterated Lower 9th Ward to Congo Square, a venerable spot where slaves were able to celebrate their culture. Accompanied by brass bands and wielding megaphones, they will again try to spread their message that the government has failed to help people return.

"People are angry and they want to send a message to politicians that they want them to do more and do it faster," said the Rev. Marshall Truehill, a Baptist pastor and community activist. "Nobody's going to be partying."

"It's an emotional time. You re-live what happened and you remember how scattered everyone is now. There are relationships now that are completely over," said Robert Smallwood, a New Orleans writer. "The city has been dying this slow death. In New Orleans, you can't escape it. It's bad news everyday."

Churches will hold memorial services, including one at the historic St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square, and ring bells in honor of the victims. People throughout the city will hold their own private ceremonies to remember where they were when Katrina hit, and what they lost.

"Everyone who gives it any thought, and I can't imagine who hasn't, has to reflect on his or her own personal experience during that time, and also look at how far we've come," said Larry Lorenz, a journalism professor at Loyola University in New Orleans.

A candlelight vigil is scheduled in Jackson Square at dusk, right around the time the French Quarter may start getting tipsy with street parties and anniversary revelers, as happened last year.

The anniversary is an opportunity for the city to recapture media attention to tell the nation what's happened to New Orleans since Katrina. Reporters, television crews and photographers have, once again, flocked to the city.

The day has also attracted a passel of politicians — President Bush chief among them. He and Laura Bush arrived Tuesday night and dined with Leah Chase, the Queen of Creole cooking, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and musician Irvin Mayfield.

As on other visits, the president and his team arrived here armed with facts and figures to show how much the Bush administration has done to fulfill the promises the president made two-and-a-half weeks after the hurricane.

"We will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes, to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives," Bush said then from historic Jackson Square in New Orleans' French Quarter. "This great city will rise again."

In fact, there is some good news here. The city's population is rebounding, and a few neighborhoods thrive. New Orleans has recovered much of its economic base and sales tax revenues are approaching normal. The French Quarter survived Katrina, and the music and restaurant scenes are recovering.

But much of New Orleans still looks like a wasteland, with businesses shuttered and houses abandoned. Basic services like schools, libraries, public transportation and childcare are at half their original levels and only two-thirds of the region's licensed hospitals are open. Rental properties are in severely short supply, driving rents for those that are available way up. Crime is rampant and police operate out of trailers.

Many projects are hamstrung by the soaring costs of construction and insurance, while federal funding has been slow to flow to cities. Other economic indicators are down — such as population, employment and housing supplies.

Bush's Gulf Coast rebuilding chief, Don Powell, noted the federal government has committed a total of $114 billion to the region, $96 billion of which is already disbursed or available to local governments. Most of it has been for disaster relief, not long-term recovery. He implied it is local officials' fault, particularly in Louisiana where the pace has been slower, if money has not reached citizens.

Powell also said the president intends to ask for the approximately $5 billion federal share of the $7.6 billion more needed to strengthen New Orleans' levee system to withstand a 100-year storm and improve the area's drainage system. Though the levees are not yet ready for the next massive storm, they are slated to be strengthened by 2015.

But Powell said other areas — such as infrastructure repair and home rebuilding — are shared responsibilities with local officials or entirely the purview of state and local governments, suggesting that the federal government is absolved when those things don't happen.

Check out the article at Fox News.

I'm tired of these people protesting about the lack of progress... what's stopping them from rebuilding their own homes with their own money or insurance money? Oh, that's right... they don't have any money and they didn't BUY insurance, so now they have their hands out to the government. Well, beggars can't be choosers.

Maybe the real underlying reason behind delays in certain aspects of rebuilding is the realization that some portions of the New Orleans area just aren't worth rebuilding. Our politicians are dragging their feet, because the truth would be politically incorrect... especially right before the elections.

So much infrastructure has to be replaced and most of the structures have to be torn down in those low-lying areas, such as the Lower 9th Ward... areas that were originally swampland. The high ground close to the river - which includes downtown, the French Quarter, and the Garden District - never really got that much water during Katrina and is worth the investment. Of course, the highest priority is to develop a better storm protections system - it's worth it.

We should be spending the money on things that will provide an economic return for the city and state. This does not include brand-new low-income housing for the leeches. We build that for them and the area will become a run-down crap-hole again in no time... it's just not worth it!

Labels: History, Politics

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space shuttle Endeavour roared into orbit Wednesday carrying teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan, who was finally fulfilling the dream of Christa McAuliffe and the rest of the fallen Challenger crew.

Endeavour and its crew of seven rose from the seaside pad at 6:36 p.m. (2236 GMT), right on time, and pierced a solidly blue sky. They were expected to reach the international space station on Friday.

Once Endeavour was safely past the 73-second mark of the flight, the moment when Challenger exploded shortly after the call "Go at throttle up," Mission Control exclaimed, "Morgan racing toward space on the wings of a legacy."

Immediately after the shuttle reached orbit, Mission Control announced, "For Barbara Morgan and her crewmates, class is in session."

Morgan was McAuliffe's backup for Challenger's doomed launch in 1986 and, even after two space shuttle disasters, never swayed in her dedication to NASA and the agency's on-and-off quest to send a schoolteacher into space. She rocketed away in the center seat of the cabin's lower compartment, the same seat that had been occupied by McAuliffe.

McAuliffe's mother, Grace Corrigan, watched the launch on TV from her home in Massachusetts. "I'm very happy that it went up safely," she said. "We all send her our love," she added, her voice breaking.

More than half of NASA's 114 Teacher-in-Space nominees in 1985 gathered at the launch site, along with hundreds of other educators, all of them thrilled to see Morgan continue what McAuliffe began.

Also on hand was the widow of Challenger's commander, who said earlier in the day that she would be praying and pacing at liftoff and would not relax until Morgan was safely back on Earth in two weeks.

"The Challenger crew — my husband, Dick Scobee, the teacher Christa McAuliffe — they would be so happy with Barbara Morgan," said June Scobee Rodgers. "It's important that the lessons will be taught because there's a nation of people waiting, still, who remember where they were when we lost the Challenger and they remember a teacher was aboard."

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin met Tuesday night with several members of the Challenger astronaut families in town for the launch — although not the McAuliffe family — and said they did not seem worried.

"They didn't act like they came to see another tragedy," he said. "They're here to celebrate her having a chance to fly."

Check out the article at Fox News.

Congratulations Barbara Morgan and the Space Shuttle Endeavor STS-118 Crew! I'm sure that Christa McAuliffe would be happy that her mission is finally underway.

I remember witnessing the Challenger Disaster on the television in my 3rd Grade classroom. What a terrible day that was... I will never forget it. Words cannot express how happy I am to see this mission proceed!

Be sure to check out the STS-118 Mission feature at NASA.gov.

Labels: History, Images, Space

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Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the nation at 450 feet


The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans is the largest enclosed stadium in the world


The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest over-water bridge in the world at 23.87 miles


Louisiana's 6.5 million acres of wetlands are the greatest wetland area in America

Just in case Hurricane Katrina causing the levees to break in New Orleans is the only thing you know about Louisiana, here are a few more interesting facts about the Bayou State:

• Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the nation at 450 feet.
• The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans is the largest enclosed stadium in the world.
• The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest over-water bridge in the world at 23.87 miles.
• Louisiana's 6.5 million acres of wetlands are the greatest wetland area in America.
• The oldest city in the Louisiana Purchase Territory is Natchitoches, Louisiana founded in 1714.
• The first bottler of Coca-Cola, Joseph Biedenharn, lived in Monroe, Louisiana.
• Delta Airlines got its start in Monroe, Louisiana. (But before it was named Delta, it was Chicago & Southern.)
• Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the largest predominantly black university in America.
• Baton Rouge was the site of the only American Revolution battle outside the original 13 colonies.
• The formal transfer of the Louisiana Purchase was made at the Cabildo building in New Orleans on December 20, 1803.
• The staircase at Chrétien Point, in Sunset, Louisiana was copied for Tara in "Gone with the Wind."
• Louisiana is the No. 1 producer of crawfish, alligators and shallots in America.
• Louisiana produces 24 percent of the nation's salt, the most in America.
• Much of the world's food, coffee and oil pass through the Port of New Orleans.
• Tabasco, a Louisiana product, holds the second oldest food trademark in the U. S. Patent Office.
• Steen's Syrup Mill is the world's largest syrup plant producing sugar cane syrup.
• America's oldest rice mill is in New Iberia, Louisiana at KONRIKO Co.
• The International Joke Telling Contest is held annually in Opelousas, Louisiana.
• LSU "The Ole War Skule" in Baton Rouge has the distinction of contributing the most officers to WW II after the U. S. military academies.
• The Louisiana Hayride radio show helped Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash achieve stardom. It was broadcast from KWKH Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana from 1948 to 1960.
• The term Uncle Sam was coined on the wharfs of New Orleans before Louisiana was a U. S. territory as goods labeled U. S. were from "Uncle Sam."
• The game of craps was invented in New Orleans in 1813 as betting was common activity on the wharves.
• When states had their own currency, the Louisiana Dix (French for ten) was a favored currency for trade. English speakers called them Dixies and coined the term Dixieland.
• New Orleans is the home of the oldest pharmacy in America at 514 Chartres Street in the French Quarter. These early medical mixtures became known as cocktails (guess they were good for what ails ya?) coining yet another term.
• New Orleans is the birthplace of Jazz the only true American art form. Jazz gave birth to the Blues and Rock and Roll music.

Viva La Louisane!!!

For more cool facts, check out Interesting Facts About Louisiana.

Interesting facts! I grew up here in Louisiana, so I already knew most of these...

Labels: History, Images

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LISBON, Portugal — Monuments in three Latin American countries were named among the new seven wonders of the world Saturday, July 7, 2007.

Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer, Peru's Machu Picchu, and Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid were chosen alongside the Great Wall of China, Jordan's Petra, the Colosseum in Rome and India's Taj Mahal.

The sites were selected according to a tally of around 100 million votes cast by people around the world over the Internet and by cell phone text messages, the nonprofit organization that conducted the poll said.

Among the places left out were the Acropolis in Athens, Greece; the Statues of Easter Island, Chile; Cambodia's Angkor; Turkey's Hagia Sophia; and Russia's Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral.

Those major attractions were on the shortlist of 21 before the announcement of the results at a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Great Pyramids of Giza, the only surviving structures from the original seven wonders of the ancient world, kept their status in addition to the new seven.

The new architectural marvels were presented during a show which included appearances by American actress Hilary Swank, Indian actress Bipasha Basu, and British actor Ben Kingsley, as well as performances by Jennifer Lopez and Jose Carreras.

The campaign to pick the seven new wonders was begun in 1999 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber. His Switzerland-based foundation, called New7Wonders, received almost 200 nominations from around the world. The list of candidates was narrowed down to 21 by early last year. Voting took place over the past six years, but gathered pace only in recent months.

The organizers conceded there was no foolproof way to prevent people from voting more than once for their favorite. They claimed votes came in from every country in the world.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, keeps updating its own list of World Heritage Sites, which now totals 851 places.

However, Paris-based UNESCO distanced itself from the seven wonders ballot, saying it reflected only the opinion of those who voted.

Weber aims to encourage cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments, and inspire people to value their heritage.

His foundation said it would use 50 percent of net revenue from the project to fund restoration efforts worldwide. One of them is a mission to rebuild the giant Bamiyan Buddha statue in Afghanistan, blown up in 2000 by the Taliban regime.

Weber said he was starting a new campaign Sunday to choose the new seven natural wonders of the world.

"If you want to save something, you first have to truly appreciate it," he told the crowd.

The original list of seven architectural marvels was collated by a variety of observers of the ancient Mediterranean and the Middle East.

However, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria in Egypt have all vanished.

Check out the article at Fox News.

All beautiful and interesting places, to be sure... but my vote is for the New 21 Wonders of the World!

Be sure to check out the New 7 Wonders website.

Labels: History, Images

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Charleston is a notable tourist destination, with streets lined with grand live oaks draped with Spanish moss. Along the waterfront in an area known as Rainbow Row are many beautiful and historic pastel-colored homes. The city is also an important port, boasting the second largest container seaport on the East Coast and the fourth largest container seaport in North America. It is also the second most productive port in the World behind Hong Kong. Charleston is becoming a prime location for technology jobs and corporations. In the city's downtown area, the medical district is experiencing rapid growth of biotechnology and medical research coupled with substantial expansions of hospital facilities at the Medical University of South Carolina and Roper Hospital. It is also home to the very prestigious all-girls school named Ashley Hall, which was founded in 1909 and the Porter-Gaud School, founded in 1867.

Hurricane Hugo hit Charleston in 1989, and though the worst damage was in nearby McClellanville, the storm damaged three-quarters of the homes in Charleston's historic district. The hurricane caused over $2.8 billion in damage.

In 1993, the world's first squadron of the significant C-17 Globemaster III aircraft was established at Charleston Air Force base.

In 2004, SPAWAR (US Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command) became the largest employer in the Charleston metropolitan area. Until 2004, the Medical University of South Carolina was the largest employer.

Charleston is the home of a Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP). It is part of an initiative by the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide mail order prescriptions to veterans using computerization at strategic locations throughout the United States.

Check out the article at Wikipedia.

We just returned from an AWESOME vacation in Charleston, South Carolina! This beautiful city boasts many attractions... there's something for everyone! I personally love the history surrounding the city... the first shots of the Civil War were fired here. You can tour the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown or enjoy the peaceful waterfront at Battery Park. If you're in the mood for something a little more eerie, be sure to check out one of Charleston's many haunted tours. The fishing is GREAT and of course the beaches are perfect!

Now, where's my check from the Charleston CVB?

Labels: Entertainment, History, Images

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STONEHENGE, England — More than 20,000 people braved heavy rain and clouds of cannabis smoke to celebrate the summer solstice at Stonehenge.

The ancient monument rang to the sounds of drumming and a saxophone as the Sun rose unseen above the Heel Stone at 4:58 a.m.

Druids, pagans, punks and New Age travelers mingled with the merely curious, despite the unfortunate weather.It was the first gathering at Stonehenge since the reclassification of cannabis and police were concentrating their attention on those suspected of possession with intent to supply rather than just smoking it.

The ceremonies were led by the self-styled Druid leader King Arthur Pendragon, who lit a fire to mark the imminent arrival of dawn.

“The fire welcomes the Sun for the longest day of the year, part of the seasonal wheel which we as Druids and pagans celebrate,” he said. “At the end of the day, this living temple we call Stonehenge belongs to all of us. We all have a right to come here and celebrate the solstice.”

Despite clear skies throughout the night, a ring of low cloud threatened to blot out the spectacle of the Sun rising in line with the stones as dawn approached.

To a chorus of applause from the crowds, it finally appeared above the cloud at 6:15 a.m., a late but welcome appearance. Peter Carson, who manages Stonehenge on behalf of English Heritage, said: “It’s wonderful. We are delighted that people have been able to come here and enjoy the solstice in a safe and peaceful manner.”

Check out the article at Fox News.

I'm sure it is quite a spectacular sight to witness the summer solstice sunrise over Stonehenge... looks like everyone there is having a "groovy" time!

Labels: History, Images

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TOKYO – Japan has changed the name of the Pacific island of Iwo Jima to the original name of Iwo To given by locals, who have become disenchanted with the popularization of its modern-day moniker by such movies as Clint Eastwood's recently released "Letters from Iwo Jima."

The new name in Japanese looks and means the same as Iwo Jima — or Sulfer Island — but sounds different, the Japanese Geographical Survey Institute said.

The institute announced the name change on Monday after discussing the issue with Japan's coast guard. An official map with the new name will be released Sept. 1.

Iwo Jima was the site of the World War II battle immortalized by the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal of The Associated Press of Marines raising the American flag on the islet's Mount Suribachi.

Before the war, however, the volcanic island was known as Iwo To by the 1,000 or so civilians who lived there.

They were evacuated in 1944 as U.S. forces advanced across the Pacific. Some Japanese navy officers who moved in to fortify the island mistakenly called it Iwo Jima, and the name stuck. After the war, civilians weren't allowed to return and the island was put to exclusive military use by both the U.S. and Japan, cementing its identity.

Never satisfied that the name Iwo Jima took root, locals took action in March after the release of Eastwood's two films "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "Flags of Our Fathers" spotlighted the misnomer.

"Though we're happy for Iwo To, which has been forgotten by history, the islanders are extremely grieved every time they hear Iwo To referred to as Iwo Jima," the local Ogasawara newspaper reported at the time.

Ogasawara, the municipality that administers Iwo To and neighboring islands, responded by adopting a resolution making Iwo To the official reading. Residents and descendants of Iwo To evacuees petitioned the central government to follow suit.

"These people are now scattered nationwide and are not able to go back to Iwo To," said the survey institute's Mitsugu Aizawa. "These people have said that the place is originally called Iwo To and their claim lead to this revision."

Today the only inhabitants are about 400 Japanese soldiers.

The 1945 battle for Iwo Jima pitted some 100,000 U.S. troops against 22,000 Japanese deeply dug into a labyrinth of tunnels and trenches. Nearly 7,000 Americans were killed capturing the island, and fewer than 1,000 of the Japanese would survive.

The Americans occupied the island after the war, and returned it to Japanese jurisdiction in 1968. The U.S. Navy still uses an Iwo To airstrip to train pilots who operate from aircraft carriers.

Check out the article at Fox News.

I'm glad that this historical error has finally been rectified... I'm sure the history books won't be re-written, but I guess this is as good as it's going to get for the former residents of the island.

Clint Eastwood recently produced two excellent, historically accurate movies about WWII Iwo Jima, or should I say Iwo To.

Letters from Iwo Jima is told from the Japanese defenders' point of view, and gives amazing insight into the Japanese mindset of the day. The movie is entirely in Japanese, with English subtitles... but don't let that stop you, it is an excellent movie!

Flags of our Fathers is a true story revolving around the lives of the individuals who were depicted raising the American Flag in the famous photograph on Mt. Suribachi. Based on the book by the same title, the story examines how those six soldiers' lives were forever changed when they were immortalized in that photograph. They were called heroes, but they didn't think that of themselves. The comment made by John Bradley sums up their true feelings: "The heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who didn't come back."

Labels: History, Military

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