The War to end all wars

Magnet #127 - National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial

So this is kinda freaky.

This day in history, in:

1914 - Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife were assassinated, setting off World War I.

1919 - The Treaty of Versailles was signed in France, ending World War I.

I guess it's also kinda neat, though.

My sister brought this one back for me from Kansas City, MO. It's from the National WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial. From the looks of it, a supercool interactive/experiential museum - especially if it was designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, who have designed some of my favorite museums.

Have ya'll ever noticed how sometimes our general appreciation of history feels kinda trendy? Like a few years ago it was all things WWII. Years before that, it was all things Vietnam. And, now, it feels like it's all things American Revolution. Funny how it feels a little driven by Hollywood.

Still, I suppose one shouldn't complain, after all, any attention paid to history is probably a good thing, what with the doomed repeating and all.

We're not in Kansas anymore - GAR Day #5

Magnet #88 - Winston Churchill

So, today would have been Harry Truman's birthplace of Independence, the Hallmark tour, and Kansas City. Plus Wichita and Topeka. Yep, it was a very, very long day. What? We were only gonna see the Brown vs. Board of Ed sign, that's all. Heheheh.

And, somewhere along the way, a planned little stopover at the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library, in Fulton, MO.

No, I haven't been there...my sisters picked this one up at the Churchill Museum in London. Everywhere I go, I seem to be one step behind Winston,

• Blenheim Palace, where he was born during a party.
• London, obvi.
• Top Cottage, in Hyde Park, NY, where he and FDR sat on the porch and decided the fate of the world.

Oh, my. I'm stalking a dead world leader.


GAR Track of the Day: You Give Love a Bad Name