Historic “Electric Map” at Gettysburg is still gone, but not forgotten

by Jamie Rhein on

I had high hopes someone would rescue the “Electric Map” at Gettysburg, but I haven’t seen anything new about it since the plug was pulled on the attraction in April. (See article) Here’s a link to “Save the Map,” a movement started to, well, save the map, but it doesn’t say the map was saved.

The map used to be at the Gettysburg National Park Visitor’s Center, but the new visitor center, now called Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War dumped it for more modern trimmings.

I suppose the film A New Birth of Freedom narrated by Morgan Freeman is a fine way to let visitors know about the Civil War and the battle at Gettysburg, but I’ll miss the map when I go to here the next time.

That map, though, was funky and I think worth saving if nothing else for its nostalgic value and history. It was first displayed in the 1939. Perhaps another organization will acquire it. I hope so.

I went to Gettysburg when I was in the 5th grade. The electric map is about the only thing I remember. For a map experience via YouTube video, keep reading.

If you’re a person who likes details and is a visual learner, it seems to me this is a simple way to learn a lot of information and be able to see how a battle is organized.

Attend Milwaukee’s Summerfest in honor of George Carlin

by Jamie Rhein on

George Carlin, the guy who created quite the stir in the 1970s with his comedy routine, “Seven Dirty Words You Can’t Say on Television,” just died yesterday.

When I went looking for a travel related element to add to this piece of news, I came upon this tidbit. Carlin was arrested for performing this very routine in 1972 at the Milwaukee Summerfest . As it so happens, the Milwaukee Summerfest starts this Thursday, June 26 and ends on July 6. That’s some festival.

The festival is touted as being the world’s largest music event. After browsing the line-up, I can see why. It is impressive. Stevie Wonder, The Love Monkeys, LeAnn Rimes, Rush, Fantasia, and Tim McGraw are just a few of the performers. Isn’t that a mix of styles?

This festival also has many, many activities that are family-oriented. The family-oriented quality is partly what got George in trouble.

The day admission fee is doable. Adults are $8 weekdays and $15 weekends, for example. You can buy and print tickets and a parking pass for no extra fee online. It’s one way to beat the crowds.

Here’s an article about what happened in 1972 at the festival and the impressions that Carlin gave later about the event. And here’s a quote of his that has to do with travel–kind of.

“Some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong.”

Here’s a link to other Carlin quotes and a link to his Web site, also quirky and funny.

Taiwan phasing out disposable chopsticks

by Iva Skoch on

Well, even Taiwan is now more environmentally progressive than the US.

About 10,000 convenience stores in Taiwan will join an environmental push by withholding disposable chopsticks from hordes of customers used to getting them with take-out meals, Reuters reports.

From next Wednesday in Taipei, and by July 1 on the rest of the island, four convenience store chains will give out the wooden single-use chopsticks only on request. Taiwan’s small restaurants also will be encouraged, with the enticement of saving money, to phase out disposable chopsticks, claiming that “conservation is getting to be mainstream” and that it shouldn’t be an issue.

Conservation efforts are happening elsewhere in Asia. For example, China banned production of ultra-thin plastic bags in May and activists in Japan are pushing for a reduction of wooden chopsticks, which are already made from recycled chips. I travel with my own chopsticks anyway, so it would be a non-issue for me.

I wish conservation was “becoming mainstream” in the US. I think the minute Americans get “forced” to carry reusable chopsticks or forks for take-out lunch, there might be riots in the streets.

[via Asiaone]

Tiger wine illegal (but available) in China

by Iva Skoch on

While it is still possible to buy tiger wine in China just by asking for it, it will probably not be possible for long, BBC reports. Tiger bone wine has been popular in China for centuries and, recently, it has become popular with tourists trying to sample something “authentically Chinese.”

It is supposed to be a health tonic to treat conditions from arthritis and rheumatism to impotence. (How could you not cure impotence with anything that has the name Tiger in it!)

Here is the problem with tiger wine. It is made from tiger carcasses soaked in rice wine. Although, officially, they are made from tigers “killed by other big cats,” pretty much everyone assumes that the tiger population has been decreasing partly because of the popularity of tiger wine. Experts believe that there are just 2,500 breeding tigers left in the wild (compared with about 100,000 at the start of the 20th century). The rest (about 5000) of them are held in “tiger farms.”

Do you feel bad yet? Good. When in China, stick with beer.

Don’t wear that Transformers shirt through security

by Grant Martin on

I hear a lot of complaints about the TSA, especially since the liquid bans were put into effect, but I’m usually pretty gentle with them. Most of the TSA officers seem to have the right intentions and are willing to work with you. Most of the time they’re just enforcing rules set by the DHS and you have no reason to give them a hard time.

This instance, however, is not one of them. Last week a guy traveling through London‘s Heathrow airport, a notoriously strict hub, got stopped and questioned for wearing a t-shirt with Megatron on it. If you’re not familiar with the program that was on the telly, Megatron is a fictional evil alien cartoon robot that’s on Transformers. A fictional cartoon robot with a gun for an arm.

Airport security didn’t like the fact that there was a gun on this guy’s t-shirt, so they made him change it, saying that they would arrest him if he put it back on.

Hey Chertoff: I know you don’t like depictions of weapons onboard your flights because someone could get confused and mistake it for the real thing. That’s fine. But this is a CARTOON ROBOT DRAWN ON A T-SHIRT. Don’t you think we could let this slide?

[Mind you, I realize that the TSA, proper, is not responsible for security at LHR — several commenters keep pointing that out. The UK’s own homeland security take care of screening at British terminals. The point is that the US & UK (and their respective agencies) share many ridiculous rules about prohibitions onto airplanes. Check out this article for a similar instance in the US. — GM]