Tag: Museum

The Civil War Fades

I live in the South and the last home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis is right down the road from me…..I was talking with a guy that works at the home which is now a museum and he complained that the tourist were not flocking to the site as they once did….

And then I read a news report on the Civil War…..

Museums and historical sites are making changes to appeal to a broader audience in the face of declining interest in the Civil War. Data from the National Park Service shows that its five major Civil War battlefield parks drew 3.1 million visitors in 2018, down from about 10.2 million in 1970. Gettysburg, the best-known battle site, had about 950,000 visitors last year; that was 14% of its draw in 1970 and the fewest visitors since 1959, the Wall Street Journal reports. In response, museums and sites are trying to present a fuller picture of history. Often, they focused on “who shot who where,” said one history teacher, “with no explanation of why people were there shooting each other.” The American Civil War Museum that just opened in Richmond includes information on slavery and the war’s effect on civilians. In response to the narrative that slavery wasn’t a core issue in the war, its director says the museum is taking the war’s history “back from the crazies.”

The number of Civil War re-enactors also appears to be dropping. Louis Varnell competed with several military-memorabilia shops when he opened his near Chickamauga Battlefield in Georgia in the 2000s; now, only his remains. People who were interested in reenacting Civil War battles in costume are now too old or are more interested in reenacting as Vietnam War troops or cowboys, he said. “Cowboy re-enacting is where bitter, jaded Civil War re-enactors go,” Varnell told the Journal. A Civil War reenactor in Georgia said, “The younger generations are not taught to respect history, and they lose interest in it.

This American war seem to be more popular in Europe than it is here at home where t was fought.

The younger generations find nothing romantic about this war…they see it as a time when the US was divided and the only way it could solve its division was with a war…..the perfect American answer.

Poop Like A Rock

I begin my weekend…the weather is cooler than normal…still NO rain…..been about 60 days without a drop…..so without further ado…..”now for something completely different” (thanx to Monty Python)

NO this post is not some morbid constipation story that you were imagining…..

Many years ago I had a hobby making jewelry with semi-precious stones….I made rings, buckles, brooches, necklaces, etc….etc….etc…..

One of the stones I used a lot was one named copralite…..it had a wide variety of colors and shapes when sliced and polished…..

It was very popular when I was selling my pieces….that is until people learned that copralite was fossilized dinosaur poop.

People would commence in cleaning their hands in all sorts of ways and I would remind them that it was a ROCK!  And that it would not come off on their hands.

I relive a little piece of my past because of an article I read about copralite……

One of George Frandsen’s prize possessions weighs over 4 pounds, hails from the Miocene Epoch, and is named “Precious.” This paleontological treasure also happens to be a huge piece of fossilized coprolite—aka prehistoric poop—and nearly 1,300 similar samples like Precious have catapulted Frandsen to a Guinness World Record. The 36-year-old has entered the 2017 edition of the record book with the “largest collection of coprolite,” gathered from 15 states and eight countries. Frandsen, who runs the Poozeum website, secured his Guinness spot with 1,277 samples, but his site notes he’s gathered “several thousand more” since the August 2015 count. Per an article over the summer on Earth Touch News Network, Frandsen became “immediately hooked” on hardened dung when he came across a sample in a Utah fossil shop as a college freshman, earning him the first entry in his collection.

These types of fossils don’t pop up very often, but they often offer valuable insight into what animals of a particular era ate. Another highlighted piece in Frandsen’s collection is one that shows signs of “aborted coprophagy”—meaning an animal tried to eat it and then spit it right back out. Guinness notes that an expert in this sort of thing has indeed verified each and every piece in Frandsen’s collection (they’re rock-hard and emit zero smell, if you were wondering how awful that job must be). For other dream-seekers looking to make their mark in Guinness, Frandsen offers this nugget: “Have … lots of passion for whatever [you’re] doing. Mine is … fossilized feces … whatever your passion, you should follow it.” (Headed to the UK anytime soon? There’s a poop museum you can visit.)

Now that is a lot of POOP!

I understand being a collector….but poop?

On that note I take my leave…….enjoy your weekend and I will be back to form Monday…..that is in case you were wondering.

 

Speaking Of 9/11

We all remember that faithful day in 2001….when the dastardly deed was done…..and after many years and many setbacks the museum dedicated to that day will be finished soon and open to the public……a memorial to those that lost their lives on that day……a place of remembrance and reflection…..

But if you plan on showing up to see the place or offer your prayers or just to cure your curiosity…..then be sure to bring your wallet!

(Newser) – A somber visit to New York City’s planned Sept. 11 museum will also be an expensive one. The board of the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum yesterday voted to charge adults a $24 admission. That places it among the city’s priciest museums (the Guggenheim is at $22, MoMA at $25), and the New York Daily News points out that unlike places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it’s not a suggested donation, but a required fee. Memorial president Joe Daniels cited the lack of government funding to pay for operational costs. “A Museum admissions [charge] will also ensure the Memorial, which has had more than 11.5 million visitors since opening two years ago, will be free,” as it currently is.

The AP reports that the museum is scheduled to open this spring; the total annual cost of operating the museum and memorial is estimated at $63 million. Families of Sept. 11 victims won’t be charged, and there will be a three-hour free window each week. Philip Kennicott at the Washington Post writes that the price tag “just doesn’t feel right,” and worries that the museum will feel pressure to be entertaining to justify it. He predicts that many people looking to pay their respects will skip the museum and do so at the free memorial. (Read the intriguing story of one of the items being prepped for inclusion in the museum, the “Angel of 9/11.”)

Now I have a problem with that…..how much public money was used to construct this massive mausoleum?  what does the cash go for once I have paid my entrance fee?

Questions!  I have questions!

How about you?